Dissent
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Kuvira thought she had one purpose in her life. One goal. To unify the Earth Kingdom; to make it whole again by any means neccessary. The thought dominated her mind, filled her every waking moment. She would do what others could not. Would not. She would succeed where the Avatar failed. Then she found him. A single voice of dissent changes everything. NarutoxKuvira! KorraxAsami!
1. Dissent

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! ****Still I return again! Things have been absolutely crazy for me as of the last few months what with the surgeries and all, but now at long last, I feel I can devote my attentions to this fic anew as I've intended to do! Of course, now that they're not cutting me OPEN anymore to work on my heart I've also come up with a quite a few new ideas! I can promise ya'll that the next few chappys are going to be nothing short of absolutely brilliant! So sorry for the wait! There's a bit of a long author's note this time, because there are a few matters I want to address.**

****But I also want to bring something to your attention. I've been putting this off for a while, but this needed to be done. I have PURGED many of my older works. That's right, I've delted or adopted off many of the stories that I will no longer be continuing. Fear not, my most popular fics will remain, but most of my old stuff from back in 2008 and 2009, when I had no idea what I was doing is being all but removed from the site. Out with the old, in with the new, as they say! Still, if anyone is interested in any of my old stuff, say the word and its yours to continue. But I've held ya'll up long enough!****

**Now that we've addressed all those issues, I just wanted to say: Thank you. To all of you who reviewed and have yet to review, and especially those who noticed my improved writing style. You all know who you are, and I thank you for telling me what you think of my other works.**

** I look forward to hearing more from you as we begin down the strange, convulted path that is this story. But first, some information!**

**This story is an offshoot of a sort, taking place roughly a few months or so before season four of Korra. Fair warning now! I've taken a few liberties with Kuvira's character here but not many; just exacerbating the fact that she does NOT like to lose, or be defied. So when a tiny little village and its charming protector refuses her offer of "protection", welll, she doesn't take too kindly to that, which sets off a fascinating chain reaction! If you haven't seen season four of Korra, I highly reccommend it, else you'll be hopelessly confused!**

**But I've held ya'll up long enough! Now...**

**...ENJOY MY LATEST WORK! Its nice and LOOOOOONG!**

_"Who are you?"_

_"Me? I'm just a simple farmer..._

_"With one arm?"_

_"Aye. Lost this thing almost four years ago, now. Don't be gettin' any ideas now missy; I can still knock you flat on your pretty__ little ass if you try to take me on."_

_(Kuvira's first conversation with a very strange young man...)_

**Dissent**

_Information meant power. _Power meant order, and Kuvira loved both.

Order was the one thing she cherished above all else; it was what made her depart Zaofu and trek out to the Earth Kingdom to right the chaos caused by the Earth Queen's death. Her parents had thrown her away like she was nothing; how could she do the same to her country?

She was not the most subtle woman in her line of work, nor even the kindest. But she _was_ the strongest. She was direct. Firm. Stern. She made hard decisons, ones others hestiated to make. Sacrificed where they could not. Would not. These choices pained her sometimes, but, she couldn't let others see that pain. Not her men. Nor her advisors. Not even Batar. Not even her own _fiance._ She cared for him of course, but even that care paled in comparison to the devotion she bore toward her nation. Would she sacrifice him, if it meant unity for her people?

Yes. It pained her to admit it, but, yes she would. She would weep over it, true, but she would do it all the same.

She did what had to be done. What Suyin could not-would not-be bothered to do. She did not hesitate. She did not show mercy. All who stood before here were either crushed or assimilated into her empire. Sometimes it pained her to be so relentless-so brutal-but what other choice did she have? The Earth Kingdom was much like a stubborn, petulant child; yet Kuvira was in no mood to entertain its tantrums. If it could not be coerced into obedience, then it would just as easily be forced into submission.

Some called her the "Great Uniter" whispered her name in hushed and reverent tones. Others branded her a tyrant when they thought she wasn't looking or listening. She didn't care. Let them think her a tryant, a cruel and ruthless dictator. So long as she brought order to the chaos, it no longer mattered in any case. She brought nearly the entire kingdom under her wing. Only three holdouts remained. The province of Yi, Zaofu, and a strange little village so far out of the way that when her scouts discovered it, it was purely by accident.

Which brought her and a small contingent of soldiers to this misbegotten place at the edge of the forest.

Meanwhile, her men had been forced to march-or in her case, walk-the distance by foot, mech, or mount. Not like Zaofu, where you could reach your destination in a mere minute by train. The thought of it sent a small, tiny scowl twitching at her lips, causing her jaden eyes to narrow in anger.

No, not like Zaofu at all.

_Uck._

The thought of that city left a sour taste in her mouth. She didn't want to think of that place, or why she left.

Instead she focused on her feet, the cool sensation of the earth drumming up beneath her boots as she walked, arms at her side. Behind her marched a squad of her finest soldiers, the elite who'd once served Suyin not so long ago in Zaofu. Master earthbenders and metalbenders all, she was confident in their ability to countermand any threat. If they were at all strained from the day's long march, their faceless helms did precious little to show it, blank visors reflecting only the dust trodden beneath their feet.

Finally, they arrived.

The path turned steep, but soon, looking up, they could see the end of it: a slender gate manned by a long guard.

"Only one of them," she muttered aloud, the beginnings of a frown drawing at her visage. "That's...odd." her gaze swept the road, finding nothing but dirt and grass, overshadowed by a smattering of trees. "You'd think they would guard the front better. And he's not dressed like those others." Indeed he was not-by comparison to the sheperd boy, this man was a lion. He wore heavy plate armor forged from platinum, his bearded face set in a garrish scowl upon them, but not so grisly as the massiv axe strapped to his back. When he saw Kuvira, his face darkened still further.

"He doesn't look very friendly," she said softly.

He was not at _all_ friendly. He did not appear fearful, and did not immediately go for his weapon, but he glared at them with a mixture of suspicious and dislike.

"Is this the village of Konoha?" Kuvira called out.

"We do not welcome intruders!" the guard shouted back, his voice deep and booming. "Go back the way you came!"

Batar moved carefully to the side, keeping his eyes open for an ambush. He smirked.

"That was a 'yes,' I believe!" he snarked.

The guardsman shot him a dark look, taking in the strange haircut eyes, tall stature, and odd attire. Then his stern gaze slid to Kuvira, and betrayed equal curiosity there in the metal she wore. It was blatantly clear that the man had never before in his life seen metalbenders or at least, those who once hailed from Zaofu. Kuvira flashed her most winning smile, and the man's leer lessened slightly...only to snap back toward Batar Junior when the latter stepped up beside her.

The man noticed his stare, and scowled a little more tightly.

Kuvira took a quick look about her, considering.

The so-callled village of _Konoha _couldn't quite be called that; it was something of a step above the term. Not quite a city, hemmed in by mountains and trees, but not a town, either. A garrison, maybe? Not quite, she decided, shifting in her stance, a few watchtowers and a dingey-looking barracks/guardhouse didn't quantify as any real sort of garrison in her mind. Of course, precious little did nowadays, when you compared it to Zaofu. This particular place was so far out of the way -so off the beaten path-that there weren't even tracks to lead to it. They'd had to lay them as they went. But there was metal here, as well...

"Well, hello...

Gazing at it, Kuvira decided, the term wasn't far off. The watchtower she'd thought was made of shiney stone was not stone at all, rather, a thick pillar metal rising up to stab at the heavens. She didn't need to extend her senses far to recognize what sh was staring at. _Platinum._ Fascinating. A metal that was almost completely unbendable, famed for its resilience. Another reason they wanted this town; the rich ore deposits would be a boon for her burgeoning army. Once-when!-they had it in hand...

"You must leave." the guard repeated, drawing her out of her plans, away from her trance. "Konoha has remained neutral since the time of its founding; we welcome no standing army here."

Kuvira blinked, surprised she'd been sussed out so swiftly. "What makes you think we're with the army?"

The watchman scoffed and shook his head, sending the dark tresses of hiss hair swinging in indignation. "You walk with discipline and purpose; it is plain to all. Our chief is in the fields and will not speak with you."

"He _will_ speak with us!" Batar Jr. snapped, made irate by the guardsman's bluster. "We've marched for three days just to-

A raised arm cut across his chest, silencing him.

Kuvira kept her tone mild, much to the man's-and Batar's-displeasure as she lowered her outstretched hand. "My apologies. We've come a long way to find this place, and my men are tired from the long journey." She gestured to the stoic soldiers at her back-only six in number-in unspoken entreaty. "Surely you can understand...?"

"Irrelevant," the guard said instantly. "We keep to ourselves, here in the Leaf. Leave."

A watchful atmosphere clung to the village. The dark little windows of the cottages gazed on them like unfriendly eyes. Though it did not show upon her face, inside, she frowned. This was not the welcome she had been expecting.

Everything about this place seemed to stand against her in silent defiance, daring her to attack.

"Ah," Kuvira said, still pleasant, disarming. "So this _is_ Konoha. Good. Could you direct us to an inn?"

"I...you...no! I will do no such thing!" The guardsman swiftly recovered from his folly to sneer at her and her guards, "There is no inn here for you and your ilk. There is no _place_ for you here. Leave, outlander," his hand strayed toward the shaft of his axe with intent, "Or you will be made to leave." Kuvira was almost tempted to let him try; the blade was iron and easily bent. But no, as much as she might wish to dent this cretin's skulll for this impudence, she knew in her heart that violence was a last resort.

"We're not here to cause trouble," she said, with disarming candor. "Quite the opposite. We want to help." Ah. The man's face twitched, ever so slightly. "Please, if I could just talk to your leader."

"He will not have you!" the man shot back, but it wavered. "As I said, the Lord of the Leaf is tending the fields with his children! He will not return until evening, certainly not to speak with you!"

_"Lord _Naruto?" Batar said, frowning in surprise. "I wasn't aware you had nobility out here in the boonies." It was the wrong thing to say, and Kuvira knew it.

Batar did not and nearly got himself cuffed for it.

"It has always been thus since he came to us three years hence," the guard replied stolidly, his tone odd, reverent, almost. "He took us in when everything was falling apart. Cared for us. Tended the sick, the wounded, the infirm. Built this place, too. We named it in his honor." Those cobalt-colored eyes turned storm grey again, leaving Kuvira to wonder at them once more. "We do not question the man who saved us. Nor should you think to challenge him."

Batar gave him a hard look. "It would seem not." his voice dripped with sarcasm.

The man's face darkened with the thunderclouds of anger, his weapon arcing free in the air with a sharp hiss.

"You will not insult the man who saved my-!"

Before either man could come to blows, a sharp whistle sounded. Soon it was taken up by another, echoing on sharply and with such vehemence, that both men stopped, all thougths of conflict draining from their faces, leaving only a pale and dazed confusion. That was when the ground shook, a distant, subtle rumble reverberating through everyone's boots up the soles of their feet, and into their spines.

Kuvira thought she heard it then, a whisper, carried on the breeze.

_Let them pass, Kolgrim,_ it said. Was that the man's name?

Regardless, the implacable guardsman stiffened as though he'd been physically struck. Then he looked at Kuvira with the grimmest expression she'd ever seen on the stern man's face. Was the whistle a signal of some sort? A means by which to communicate? She wondered about that, watching as his mouth opened and closed, gawping like a fish out of water.

"He...will see you." when the burly, bearded watcher finally found his voice, the words sounded like a death sentence, rather than an offer of admittance. When they tried to move forward, he thrust out an arm, barring their path. "No! Only the two of you may pass. The rest must remain."

"And if we refuse-HEY!"

Faster than the naked eye could see, the guardsman swung his axe. Batar yelped and scrambled backwards as the mighty weapon thudded into the earth with a ponderous _crrrrrraaaack _of sound. There was a terrifying silence. Kuvira risked a glance downard, her eyes narrowing slightly at the sight that awaited her there. Kolgrim's axed remained wedged in the earth, lodged where Batar's toe would've been had he not moved his foot at the last instant. A blow like that would've taken junior's foot clean off.

With a deceptive tug, he drew the weapon from its earthen sheathe and shouldered it. "Then you will not pass; because I will kill you where ye stand." he said, eyes dark with menace.

Prided grieveously wounded, Batar opened his mouth to protest once more, but _this time,_ Kuvira silenced him with a harsh look.

"Just the two of us it is, then." she aqcueisced politely, returning her jaden gaze to Kolgrim. "We'll see what he wants." She waltzed past the man without further pleasantries, ignoring the seething stare boring into her back. Batar followed a moment later, meeting the man's irate leer with one of his own. Behind, the rest of their troops lingered, uneasily eyeing the burly axeman. Kuvira didn't blame them. He'd moved with a startling speed for someone of such bulk, and the contemptuous ease with which he'd hefted his weapon made Kuvira reavaluate her opinion of the man.

The village, as well.

She realized she'd misjudged Konoha. It was larger than she'd expected, with more houses in the back, though some of them looked to be in great need of repair. The path to the town's center, led up another steep hill curling towards the mountain. Men and women eyed her and Batar intently, still leery at the prescence of Earth Kingdom soldiers. Some of the men were armed and a few even armored, though-thankfullly-no one wore the gleaming platinum plate of Kolgrim. Still, this would explain the sorry state of her scouting party-if they'd encountered hostiles like these, no wonder they'd limped back to camp half dead.

Kuvira pressed her lips together, wondering if she ought to have brought a larger force, rather than a few hand-picked guards. She had the feeling she'd be needing them...

"Well, its a pretty village, in its way," Batara said, tactfully choosing to ignore the heated stares sent his way. "The cottages are neat enough, the gardens well tended. Shame they don't have enough food, though. Dirty enough, too. What else can you expect from a bunch of savages...?"

One of the men growled and summoned up a fireball in warning.

Kuvira cleared her throat and caught her man's eye. Batar only scoffed. Nursing a grudge, indeed!

They reached the top of the hill and once again found themselves on a flat clearing, surrounded by cottages. Nearby, a small and sallow little girl was playing in the dirt with what looked like a knucklebone, murmuring a rhyme to herself. Kuvira glanced at her, taking in her dirty rags and mussed hair, and felt a pang of guilt. She couldn't have been more than eight years old. Kuvira shuddered, seeing her face in the child's dirty features and for a moment-just a single, traitorous moment-her body locked up. That had been her, once. Before Su took her in. Before.

Before...

She was just thinking of coming over to her when a shape detached itself from one of the nearby huts. A shadow that hadn't been there a moment ago. Her senses gave a shrill shriek of warning and her blood turned to ice in its veins. _Danger! Danger! DANGER!_ One moment the man hadn't been there, the next, he was. He was...

...normal.

Yet every single fiber of her being wanted nothing more than to get the bloody hell away from him. Initially, there seemed nothing about this man to suggest he was a leader at all-or even anyone of any significant rank for that matter-but the way in which the villagers brightened at his prescence told Kuvira all she needed to know. This was the leader of their little village, the so-called "Lord of the Leaf" as it t'were.

She wasn't impressed.

Bright blue eyes and blond hair, the latter streaked with dirt and dust from working in the fields. Whiskers trippled his cheeks, though she couldn't tell whether they were there by accident, or intent. His body bore no sign of heraldry or anything that could possibly link him to Earth Kingdom nobility; although his clothes were an eeire, verdant amber-orange, perhaps?-and green color, their wrinkled state suggested this was a man who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty when the need called for it.

Around his head draped an old piece of metal tried to a black cloth; the plate was pitted and scarred by the rigours of time, but the symbol itself, though faded, was still visible. It looked like...a leaf? Kuvira gave it a moment's consideration, nothing more. Odd that this was the only piece of metal she'd seen thus far. Everything else appeared to be made of platinum-an unbendable material for her or her soldiers-yet this memento was kept close at hand.

Beyond that his attire consisted of little more than simple onyx-colored vest draped over an equally simple tunic and dark trousers with the sleeves shorn off on either side, a pair of bands wrapping his wrist and elbow, likely a fashion statement of sort.

An arm descended, patting the humming girl once upon the head. "Go wait with the others, Tara." A murmurred word sent her scurrying off to the protection of one of the woman's skirts. It was then that Kuvira noticed something else. An arm. Or rather, a lack thereoff.

_He was missing an arm._

One of his limbs had been severed just below the elbow at some point. An old injury? It had healed well in any case, and it didn't seem to slow the blond anymore than a gnat would bother a horse. Batar said something to her right, some insipid comment about cripples, but she ignored him. How curious, she thought, that a cripple would be in charge of all these people, rather than someone like Kolgrim. With that thought in mind, she renewed her scrutiny on the man.

The remaining limb had no distinctive features about it beyond that of a strange, circular mark upon its palm; made visible now as the man raised a hand up in greeting. "Hello, there!" For all his oddity his gait was swift and true-he waltzed right up to them and extended his good hand towards them in gentle greeting. His smile was chipper and disarming and Kuvira felt the strange knot of dread in her stomach loosen somewhat. There was something about that smile that disarmed you, made you want to trust him.

Without thinking, she accepted his proffered arm and shook. His grip was strong and firm; not the grasp of someone with palsy, as she'd expected.

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service." his voice was rough and rumbling when he spoke, like a slow moving avalanche. "Been awhile since we had visitors." Idly, Kuvira noticed a thin, savage scar on his throat, crossing his adam's apple dangerously close to the vein. Someone had tried to cut his throat, once. Evidently, they'd failed. Hmm. She could respect that. What didn't kill you only made you stronger, and despite his loss of limb, he seemed very strong indeed.

"So, what brings you my village?" he asked pleasantly. "I can't imagine that the "Great Uniter" would come all this way without a good reason." She saw the understanding in those bright blue eyes and recognized it for what it truly was. Oh, the bastard. Kuvira felt the ghost of a smile pluck at her lips. He knew what she wanted, why she was here, and he was playing coy. Fine, then. If he wanted to play a game of words, then far be it from her to refuse him. Ordinarily she'd have run him over right and proper; bulldozed, making her demands that he submit to her. She'd humor him, then he'd yield, like everyone else.

"I was in the area." she replied with a tight smile. "You look like you could use some supplies." Pointedly, she allowed her gaze to roam across the village. "After all, the bandits here must be hitting your people pretty hard-

Kuvira isn't prepared for the laugh. It barks out of him abruptly, loud and deep from his belly, momentarily catching her off guard.

"Hitting us hard?" he chuckled, softly this time. "I've recruited twenty of them in the last day! Poor sods just want some food in their bellies and a place to lay there heads, is all. And the ones who don't, well," he gave a small shrug, eyes narrowing foxily. "Those lot tend to meet our headsman's axe." Kuvira suppressed a small shiver, recalling the grim Kolgrim at the gate.

"Still, you don't deny that you need aid." she said.

"No, I don't." he answered, stroking at his chin. "Not sure I wan't the kind of "aid" you're offering, though. We make decent money with our ore and fields here, and aside from the food and water problem-we just keep getting refugees, y'see-we're really doing quite well. Why? Do you want to add to your empire that badly?"

He was just a little taller than her-damnit-so Kuvira couldn't look freeze him with her legendary glare; the kind that left her soldiers gibbering. But she was clever, and she had her own ways of winning an arguement.

"But we've come all this way just to see you," Kuvira caught the verbal jab and deflected it with one of her own, countering with a disarming smile. "At the very least, hear me out." she wasn't above using her feminine wiles to get what she wanted in lieu of force. It seldom worked on the more stubborn ones, but if she could sway this man without a fight..

"Then by all means, let us talk." Naruto answered. "Just a moment." he stretched mightily, his back producing a loud pop. "My back's killing me. Now, where, oh where...did I put that staff of mine? Keeran!" One of the villagers scrambled up to him at his shout and pressed just such an implement into his hand. Naruto thanked them with a word and a nod and they darted away. Kuvira processed all this silently, considering the reason for the sudden request. Naruto looked to be around her age; why would he need such a thing? It was his arm that was maimed, not his leg! Strange...was it a weapon of some sort? It didn't look like one...

"Now then, if you'd follow me?"

Batar moved to follow, but the man wasn't having any of it.

"Not you, kiddo." Naruto dismissed him with a polite wave. "I'm not interested in lackeys. Stay here." The man purpled at this accusation.

"I am no _lackey_ you filthy farmer-

Whap!

Whatever else he might've said died as Naruto whacked him on the head with the staff, effectively silencing him. For a moment. Then-

"YEOW!"

A searing blast of orange fire at his feet scorched the soles of his boots before he could continue; warping his offensive diatribe into an anguished yelp of pain. He dropped to the street with a startled cry of surprise and swatted at his boots furiously-ripping them off with his socks, pausing only to cringing at his slightly singed feet. His face twisted into a rictus of rage.

"Who did that?!" His eyes bulged behind his glasses when he beheld the culrpit. "YOU! You little wretch!"

"Hmm...?" Kuvira blinked, baffled by the display, her gaze searching the town square. Who had done that? As if sensing that very thought Naruto chuckled, and turned his attention northward; towards the shop he'd just vacated, his blue eyes locking on the little girl who was _supposed_ to be with her mother. She was glaring defiantly at Batar, her small fists stilll-extended from where she'd cooked his feet. _Ahhhh._ Not so helpless after alll, then. Feisty, too.

"You don't talk to papa like that!" she snapped, dirty features tight with anger.

_"Tara."_ Naruto cut in quietly, his voice mild with restraint and reproach. "We do not burn our guests. Well," he paused, considering. "Not without good reason." His lazy blue gaze slid back to Batar. "I suppose he might have deserved that, this time. Don't do it again, kay?"

The little one colored and jerked her arm behind her back. "Sorry, papa." she scurried back into the house before Batar could spout further impreciations. Monkey feathers, what had gotten into him today? He certainly wasn't making this any easier for her...and did Naruto have a daughter? Something to use against him perha-no. Her mind considered it, only for her heart to take that idea and smash it into a thousand pieces. Kuvira could be many things for the sake of her kingdom, but she would not abuse a child to get her way. She couldn't. Spirits, it was simply beyond her.

"Oh, its quite alright." Completely unaware of her inner turmoil, Naruto didn't see the "Great Uniter" start as he finished speaking to Tara. With a final, scoffing glance in Batar's direction, he waved her on. "Follow me, would you kindly?"

Kuvira considered it for a moment longer, then gave in.

"It'll be alright, Batar." she reassurred, following.

Discouraged from anything further, he hung back with the rest of the townsfolk. The moment they were out of earshot, the talk began.

"So that's Kuvira?" Someone muttered.

"She isn't going to take over is she?"

"Of course not! Boss would never let here...

"Did you ever see such green eyes?" Another murmurred. "Scary! But why—"

His words were muffled, as his friends dragged him out of earshot. Batar followed them, sighing. Kuvira had one last long look around her before resigning herself to following the enigmatic blond to the designated place of his choice. They took council under a massive old oak tree near the square of the village, its leaves beginning to brown, while a chilly wind whistled through the forest, whispering of snows to come. Beneath _that,_ was a small hut, doubtlessly where he dwelt, but he didn't lead her inside as she expected.

Instead, she watched patiently as Naruto relinquished his staff and fusssed with a table on the lawn for a moment, strugggling only slightly before succeeding. He retrieved his walking stick and offered her the lone seat, content to stand. The position wasn't lost on Kuvira; that he'd refused to sit stood in silent defiance of her. His smug smile said as much as well. Here-away from the eyes of his people-there was no need for gestures or a facade. Kuvira could clearly see the flames of determination raging in his eyes. She sighed to herself. This wasn't going to be easy. Then again, it seldom was.

"That was your daughter?" she asked, hoping to break the ice before it could thicken.

"Oh, no." Naruto chuffed quietly. "Not by blood at any rate. She just likes to call me that. I took her in three years ago-what with her parents being gone and whatnot. Nobody wanted anything to do with a firebender, I suppose. Load of bollocks, in my opinion." Kuvira didn't know what to make of that admission. Anyone who would take in an extra mouth to feed had her respect, let alone a child...but she wasn't sure she _could _respect Naruto. If he stood up against her, well...she wouldn't have much of a choice. She laid out her terms and, as expected, they were rejected almost immediately.

"You'll have to do better than that sweetheart; 'cuz I sure as hell ain't swearing loyalty to ya." Naruto said, flat out dismissing her. "You're here for the ore and tactical advantage my village posseses. You couldn't care less about my people." Lies! His words rankled her deeply, eliciting a soft hiss from her lips. How dare he. How _dare_ he!

_"_Who are you, really?" she challenged, shifting gears. "You command too much respect to be a simple refugee. I've seen the way you move; you're not like the rest."

"Me?" he feigned shock, touching at his chest. "I'm just a simple farmer."

An elegant eye arched. "With one arm?"

"Aye." he gave a hoarse chuckle, waving the short limb about for emphasis. "Lost this thing almost four years ago, now. That was before I got here, of course. Nearly killed me, ya know. My best friend blew it off during our last fight, and unlike him, _I,_ was lucky enough to find a healer. Bastard was too proud to accept!" Snickering he slapped his stick on the table, producing a hollow thump of a noise. "Ha! Poor Sasuke." Then his eyes narrowed, perhaps in resignation. It was not the kind she wanted. "Eh, what the hell. I'll be honest with you; I'm no bender, but yes, I've seen my share of action."

Her expression must've been less than ambiguous, because that smile deepened into a scowl.

"Oi, don't be gettin' any ideas now missy." Naruto's voice cracked like a whip, shifting from pleasant to proud in a heartbeat. "I can still knock you flat on your pretty little ass if you try anything." His eyes drifted to her lips briefly, before snaring to her again. Spirits, was he flirting with her? The gall!

"I very much doubt that." She drew herself up under his gaze, suddenly aware of the distance-or lack thereof-between the two of them. "Better men than you have tried. And _failed."_

"Perhaps, but_ I_ never go back on my word." He stepped around the table, and she inhaled reflexively, drinking in his scent. The aroma of charcoal smoke and wheat filled her nose. He scowled down at her, dirty and defiant, unspeaking. Here was one who had worked to attain what he had; every inch of him a man. The first one to stand up to her, really stand up to her, since she'd begun her unification. _He's more of a man than Batar will ever be. You want him on your side._ The traitorous and sudden thought sprang from nowhere, rattling her. Where did that come from?

Unbidden, she felt a bead of warmth build in her chest.

A moment of silence passed between them. Finally Naruto exhaled. Turning, he laid his staff against the nearby tree. "Alright," he said. "This is getting us nowhere.

"Where I come from, my people have a tradition; if you want something, you fight for it. Take it." His hand rose and clenched into a determined fist before his face. "Nothing like this land and all its talk. I've been here for these last three years, but I've stayed neutral in this crazy business. And now, you want to waltz in here with your army, offer me your protection," the jolly facade seemed to melt from his facade as she looked on, revealing a determined young man who would do whatever it took to keep his people safe. "Tell me, how am I to respond to that? I have no intention of bowing to you, and I think we both know that. So unless you've got some better terms for me, you can pack it in and leave."

"What do you want?"

He shrugged. "That's a good question. In my opinion, this Earth Empire of yours is going to fail, "and here he held up a hand before she could argue," but I find it interesting all the same. So I'll make you an offer. If ya agree to let me take over and fix this mucky-muck-up you call an empire, I'll let you have this village.

"No." she deadpanned.

"Eh, worth a shot." he sighed. "How about this, then? You beat me in combat, I'm your ally. Not a conscript. _Ally._ Your equal in all things. Hell, I might even agree to help you with your little morale problem. If you lose, you leave this place. And never come back.

"Or I could just beat you now and _take _what I want." she challenged, standing on her tiptoes. Naruto did not retreat. Surprisingly he leaned forward, his face a mere breath from her own. Kuvira stiffened, not expecting this, but refused to back down, even as she felt his lips brush hers. Her eyes-treacherous things!-flitted down to his mouth. Then, suddenly, he took three steps back, standing at arms length once more.

"Well, then?" Naruto raised his brows, face serene. "Just what are you prepared to do about it?"

Just like that, the tension returned.

In the same instant that she struck, he moved.

She felt a fist smash her temple, followed by a swift kick to her groin. As she staggered to one knee, she couldn't help but smile knowing that he'd assumed this would be enough to drop her. Another punch struck her nose, but she caught his wrist before he could pull his fist back. With the other, she turned the earth to mud at his feet and _yanked_, intending to suck him down into the muck and end the fight swiftly. Naruto laughed. She was not prepared for the sudden maneuver he made.

In an impossible movement he levered himself off the ground with his hips alone, wrapped his legs around her waist, and _spun._

His fingers wrapped around her own wrist, his body twisted, and then _she_ was down on both knees, wincing as the bones of her arm protested in pain. Any delusions she had of him being a normal man vanished with her shriek of pain. Her fingernails clawed his skin, but, he didn't seem to care. Face-to-face they stared, and if she'd expected to find anger or desperation, she was badly mistaken. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the afternoon and as he released go of her wrist to kick her in the chest, she realized he was enjoying himself. She twisted to avoid the debilitating blow and strike at the offending limb, but he simply blocked with an elbow, balanced on that same leg, and lashed out with the other, the powerful limb a streak of violent saffron before her vision, before impact—

_Ooomph!_

Naruto spun around quickly, slamming his heel into Kuvira's body. With a surprised grunt, the pale-skinned bender went flying down the street, a trail of dark blood following her body through the falling debris. She felt her body lock up, her breath caught in her throat as he found that her legs refused to move. As if from outside herself, she watched her limp body slam against the dirt once, twice, three times once gravity took hold of her, her skin skidding across the street as the momentum continued to drag her over the road, her dark hair tearing free from its braid, its ebon curtain flying into her face as it rolled.

And then, she could move again, her feet suddenly free from the ground as her boots carried him over the dust-drenched soil. Digging in, she slowed her retreat to a crawl, her boots grinding a halt against the earth. A sharp whistle drew her attention. When she raised her gaze, Naruto was beckoning to her; the fingers of his lone hand raised mockingly, crooked in a claw.

"C'mon now," he called out to her, doing a little jig in the dirt. "Is that the best you can do? I'm not even trying here-whoa!"

The earth suddenly crashed down in front of him, the giant explosion creating a spider-web of fissures in the street below, causing him to skip backwards in retreat. Kuvira pressed the attack, shards of jagged rocks and stone shooting up at him in a tidal wave of freshly hewn earth. There! She struck at him again and again, bending the earth wherever he landed, forcing him on the defensive. If she could just keep pressing him, then a mistake would be made; he would slip up, do something wrong...

...or not.

Abruptly Naruto ceased dodging, skidding a halt in the distance. Without hesitation, Kuvira struck again, overturning the earth and hurling it at him. He didn't move. Not an inch. Instead, He looked over at her, scoffing slightly as he stepped forward. He extended a hand, pulled it backwards and clenched his fingers. A smile curled at his lips.

"My turn."

For a moment-just a moment-she thought she saw him flash. His entire body, lit from within. And then the avalanche was upon him, blocking him from view. Then he _punched_, striking the avalanche head on with such force that it shattered. The stone physically _disintegrated _turning to dust before his outstretched arm and crumbling away. Naruto lowered his arm, shaking the pins and needles out of his limb.

"Is that it?"

"...no." Kuvira narrowed her eyes and forced her hands into fists, hoping that her disheveled face didn't look as panicked as she felt. Naruto stood stone-still as he returned the glare; Kuvira had very little desire to fight someone like this head on, but she wasn't about to yield, trapped between her pride and the watchful eyes of the Konoha citizens as she was They were watching her now she realized, drawn by the sounds of conflict he had no doubt orchestrated. Close enough to see, but far enough to safely observe.

Fierce eyes glared back at her, but not a one of them did a thing to intervene. If they'd mobbed her, she might have been hard pressed to fight them off.

"Kuvira-chan~!" Naruto called. "We don't have all day!"

_'I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him, I am so going to kill him!'_

Slowly, painstakingly, she pushed her hair out of her face and straightened. But her body betrayed her, arms and legs moving jerkily, like a puppet severed from its strings. By comparison Naruto looked fresh as a daisy in spring. Even now she could see him bounding on the balls of his feet...charging...CHARGING!

When he moved, she barely saw him.

She ducked under the next kick, spun around him, and _bent._ Shards of metal flew from the pauldrons on her wrists, arcing forward at his exposed body. He ducked-as expected-and she jabbed his throat with her elbow as he rose. When he collapsed, he rolled his body, avoiding an errant boulder and an avalanche of earth from her foot. He caught the next missile-another sheet of metal on the third fling, neatly netting it between both his thumb and forefinger.

Then he flung it back at her.

Speed blurred the metal to nothingness before Kuvira's vision, causing it to vanish before and then it was past, and she was bleeding. She barely noticed the tiny rent in her cheek; because now it was Naruto who was attacking. She somersaulted with the push, snapping his chin with her other foot. As he staggered back she landed lightly on her feet drew two more sheets of metal, and hurled them at him. They stabbed into the soil barely an inch to either side of his feet. A miss! He was already gone-just another afterimage in her eyes.

"Is that it?" a voice whispered in her ear. His voice. "I could've killed you just now, ya know."

Kuvira started and spun, slamming a boulder into her unprotected flank, but he was already gone. Grimacing she bent the stone against her body, wrapping it in earthen armor. It didn't last. No sooner had she done so than he was on her again. With a savage swing of something that looked an awful lot like airbending, so was her armor, and the boulder raised to defend against him.

"Whoo," she heard him laugh. "You're actually making me work up a bit of a sweat! Didn't think I was this rusty without the cloak...

Kuvira grimaced.

The stone-shield was barely intact, three of its four points having already disintegrated against the power of Naruto's assault. With a wave of her hand, Kuvira sent the remainder of her hastily-erected barrier shattering into oblivion. She steeled his eyes on the blond in front of her, her pulse pounding in her ears, adrenaline staining her vision a faint crimson in her eyes. Every fiber of her being wanted nothing more than to-desired!-to attack the man in front of her, but she now knew better than to rush in and attack Naruto head-on. To do that would be akin to a death-wish.

It didn't stop her from shouting, though.

"I'm still standing, Naruto!" she smirked. "What's the matter? Afraid to hit a girl?"

Apparently, he wasn't.

When he reappeared again she drew blood for the first time. It was a foolish slip; he got a little too close, and she'd already bent her metal into a segemented blade. It bit deeply into his side, drawing blood. And in that very instant, he hit her so hard she felt two of her ribs break, and smashed her into the ground.

She was finally able to right herself in time to avoid slamming head-first into a building–instead, her heels dug into the ground and she was forced down onto her back. She slid backwards, her body carving a trench into the street, but Kuvira could force herself to her feet. Pain ripped through her, but she ignored it.

Kuvira gasped roughly, her body doubling over as she gripped her knees. Her lungs were on fire. She was having trouble holding her balance. She struggled to stand up straight, to prevail.

She almost wished she hadn't when she saw her opponent's expression.

Naruto snarled, his pupils dilating as increased adrenaline began to pump through his system, his visible eye blue. And bright with bloodlust. His teeth gleamed wolfishly in the shadow of his ragged locks, giving him an almost demonic air. When he finally found his voice, it sent a cold hand of dread down Kuvira's spine. As did the _thing_ swirling in his hand.

_'What...is that?'_

She glimpsed nothing more than a ripple in the air itself, the faintest whisp of steam or mist wadded into a ball like so much discarded parchment. Had she not been looking right at it, indeed, _expecting_ something very much like it, she'd never have known it was there.

"I was trying to go easy on you," His voice rose over the din. "Perhaps its time you learn...

"Ha?"

**_...some respect!"_**

The keening of the wind erupted into a furious roar; a veritable tornado swirling in his palm, compressed into a sinister sphere. Kuvira balked at it, the villagers balked at it, hell, everyone did! Naruto thrust his hand toward the sky, his laugh lost over the howling storm.

"That's some screech," Kuvira winced, crincing as the wind whipped itself higher and higher. She'd seen all manner of different benind abilities, but this...this was something else. Even with the distance between the two of them she found she had to cover her ears just to drown out the incessant shriek of the rising maelstrom. The bitter keening of the wind rose in pitch, scouring the road clean. And still it spiraled higher, sparking and spitting in the blonde's upturned palm. His eyes flashed a foul crimson color, his pupils snapping slitted as he brought his arm back to launch the massive technique. And then, incredibly, he smiled.

"You lose!"

Kuvira didn't even have time to blink; one moment Naruto was holding it, the next, he flung it, just like its namesake.

_"Rasenshuriken!"_

The massive sphere roared forward with a howl. Behind the trail of white light, Naruto could see Kuvira's face drop as the missile approached her. Her mouth twisted down in shock and fear as she realized that she had gravely underestimated the power that the attack contained.

And then everything was white.

The rasenshuriken roared forward and tore against Kuvira's body. The attack had been too close for her to block, much less avoid; she had no choice but to take the strike directly to her front. She flew back in agony as the dark wave ripped at her face and chest, her clothes and armored paulrons burning away from her flesh. The blast seemed to last for aeons before blowing past her as gravity-sweet merciful gravity-finally took over, her body spiraling towards the ground limply.

Kuvira flew backwards, tumbling, flipping head over heels as reality vanished into a blinding glare, dimly aware of the muted shouts of both Batar and her troops. She gripped onto their voices like a lifeline, but even then, her body had apparently decided enough was enough.

She hit the street with a thud, her limbs trembling slightly. She immediately struggled to rise, jabbing the tip of her fingers into the ground and forcing herself up from her back. She made it all of an inch before she flopped back down.

Gasping for breath, the woman tried, and failed to drag herself to upright. Her body didn't want to respond; it was beyond battered, riddled with cuts and bruises, more than a few fractured ribs, earthen shield she had wielded having disintegrated utterly to leave her ebon tresses sprawled out behind her battered back. And her clothes...unless one counted a few tattered scraps of cloth preserving only the bases of her modesties, they were virtually nonexistent after that last blast.

Frankly it was a miracle she hadn't perished outright.

There were a number of cuts on her skin, as well as numerous bruises. She was almost certain her left arm was broken and her collarbone fractured. Not to mention her clothes were pretty much gone-nearly obliterated by the thunderclap. She felt no pain, as of yet, but perhaps that was the shock.

_Tap._

A sound in the haze alerted her to the arrival of her conqueror. How had he crossed such a distance, so swiftly? It didn't matter she supposed, but she was still curious. When she looked up he was standing there, in all his golden glory. Cross-shaped irises regarded her quietly, his mouth pressed into a thin line. The madness was almost completely gone from his eyes, she realized, whatever black beast he'd unleashed upon her, it had been satisfied, or at least satiated enough to retreat for the moment.

"You survived." he actually sounded impressed.

Kuvira tried to offer a witty reply; all that emerged was a rasping cough as the cold steel of his boot touched her throat. Naruto considered her for a moment. Then he sighed. "Well, you look like shit." She couldn't think of a better answer to that, so she simply glared. She'd lost. No. No no no no, she wasn't supposed to lose, how could she have possibly lost...to him, of all people!

"Shit, you're not gonna cry, are you?" Naruto's voice slashed through her own dismay like a knife. Kuvira couldn't find the strength to curse him. She had none left.

"Tell you what," he remarked, rolling his shoulders. "Why don't we call it quits for today?"

There was a silence.

...ha?" Kuvira blinked, disbelieving.

He was letting her go? Letting her live? It didn't make sense?

"Oi," he called to his followers. "Someone get the healer over here. Looks like the "Great Uniter" is going to be our guest for a little bit." Shouts of disbelief rose to those words, but Kuvira never heard the reply, because at that instant, because everything started spinning. Swimming. "Oh, crap, I think she's going to-..." Too late. Blackness finally took her. Her body slumped, exhaustion taking hold.

That was the day they met. Uzumaki Naruto. The man who knocked her down and made a fool out of her.

The man she'd never forget.

**A/N: Aaaaaaand enter Naruto! Yes, this is the one from near the end of the series-he got his arm blown off by Sasuke and the ensuing aftershock flung him across dimensions. As to whether he'll ever get his arm back, eh, who knows? The mark has moved to his opposite hand for obvious reasons; even with only one arm, he's still a force to be reckoned with. Pairing is NarutoxKuvira! Why, you ask? Because I can't stand Batar Jr. He was...is...not the best guy. He struck me as a whiney brat in the season, with no real explanation for his actions. I've watched all of Season Four, and nothing I've seen clarifies it.**

**So, sorry if it seems like I bashed him in this chapter, but that's that. He'll have much less of a role in later chapters anyway, so don't worry. ALSO! Apparently, according to Michael Dante Dimartion the final pairing for Korra was...Asami? I know they held hands at the end...but DANG! Wasn't expecting them to go and make it official by post! Now, back to this story. How did it come to be, you ask? **

**Simple. Naruto and Kuvira are quite alike, personality-wise. They are fierce, determined, and most of all...DRIVEN.**

**So I thought to myself, someone who openly defied Kuvira, preventing her from uniting the Earth Kingdom. Wouldn't that get under her skin? Ohhhhh, yes it would! Naturally Naruto came to mind, a little older, a little wiser, but still very much himself, always willing to stick up for those who need it, and kicking the asses of those who deserve it! It'll be quite amusing to see him interact with Kuvira over the course of this story...**

**So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

**...Review, Would You Kindly?**

**(Preview)**

_"Take the town by force?"_

_Naruto cocked his head aside, like a dog listening to a new sound. "Huh." he remarked. "Did I ever mention you're beautiful when you're flustered?"_

_Kuvira colored. "W-What?"_

_"Nah, its nothing." he shrugged, rolling his shoulders with a decisive pop. "So, round two. Gonna kick your ass now, kay?" Before she could think to defend herself, the young man flashed gold, blindingly bright. Burning red eyes locked on her, fastening to her soul. "So," he hummed pleasantly, "Lets do this again, shall we?"_

_Then all hell broke loose._


	2. Trouble

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! ****Still I return again! Things have been absolutely crazy for me as of the last few months what with the surgeries and all, but now at long last, I feel I can devote my attentions to this fic anew as I've intended to do! Of course, now that they're not cutting me OPEN anymore to work on my heart I've also come up with a quite a few new ideas! I can promise ya'll that the next few chappys are going to be nothing short of absolutely brilliant! So sorry for the wait! There's a bit of a long author's note this time, because there are a few matters I want to address.**

****But I also want to bring something to your attention. I've been putting this off for a while, but this needed to be done. I have PURGED many of my older works. That's right, I've deleted or adopted off many of the stories that I will no longer be continuing. Fear not, my most popular fics will remain, but most of my old stuff from back in 2008 and 2009, when I had no idea what I was doing is being all but removed from the site. Out with the old, in with the new, as they say! Still, if anyone is interested in any of my old stuff, say the word and its yours to continue. But I've held ya'll up long enough!****

**Now that we've addressed all those issues, I just wanted to say: Thank you. To all of you who reviewed and have yet to review, and especially those who noticed my improved writing style. You all know who you are, and I thank you for telling me what you think of my other works.**

** I look forward to hearing more from you as we begin down the strange, convulted path that is this story. But first, some information!**

**This story is an offshoot of a sort, taking place roughly a few months or so before season four of Korra. Fair warning now! I've taken a few liberties with Kuvira's character here but not many; just exacerbating the fact that she does NOT like to lose, or be defied. So when a tiny little village and its charming protector refuses her offer of "protection", welll, she doesn't take too kindly to that, which sets off a fascinating chain reaction! If you haven't seen season four of Korra, I highly reccommend it, else you'll be hopelessly confused!**

**But I've held ya'll up long enough! Now...**

**...ENJOY MY LATEST WORK! Its nice and LOOOOOONG! Also plenty of funny and feelsome moments XD Aye, and the title of this chapter is inspired by the song "Trouble" by Neon Jungle. Be sure an give it a listen, eh?**

_"Must be my charming personality."  
_

_"I'll leave you out here, I swear, I will."_

_"Now, now, I don't look for trouble...trouble looks for me!"_

_(Kuvira's second conversation with a very strange young man...)_

**Trouble**

Kuvira woke to blackness.

Grey eyes flashed open, or rather, one did.

The other remained wholly dark, refusing to respond.

When she finally came to her senses after what felt like an eternity later, she found herself laying crumpled against a feathery mattress, aching and sore. An equally thick sheet lay draped across her body for the sake of modesty; because she soon realized that beneath the draping cover she was wholly naked save for a pair of strategically placed bandages across her chest. Dark eyes bulged, uncomprehending. "What in the_ hell-_

Memory came rushing back in a torrent of muddy agony.

Fighting.

Losing.

_Pain._

Grasping her head in hand, the Great Uniter permitted herself a soft growl of annoyance. She'd lost. To him. Naruto. No, she hadn't just lost, she'd been defeated handily. He'd rolled right over her like a monsoon, fierce and unstoppable and she hadn't been able to do a damn thing about it. Kuvira sniffed, annoyed. Miffed. She had been beaten by a man with one arm. Such a notion galled her-just as much as the warm morning sunlight filtering through the curtains of her window.

It had been late afternoon when she'd confronted the leader of Konoha. It was now morning.

This meant, of course, that she'd been out for a long time. Too long.

Long enough that Batar and her men were probably about to storm the village gates for her. Somehow, notion wasn't as appealing as it once would have been.

_Thunk._

What was that noise?

_Thunk!_

Spirits, there it was again!

Curious, she rose slowly-tentative-at first, propping herself up on her elbows with an effort, grimacing at the aches and pains_-pins and needles-_in her legs. Moving soon proved an effort in-and-of itself; because her body wanted nothing more than to lie back down and pretend this was all some god awful dream, one she'd wake from at any moment. But she was nothing if not stubborn and bit by bit, inch by painful inch, she dragged her bedraggled body out of bed.

Bare feet struck a dirt floor and shivered as she took stock of her surroundings. The room wasn't much to look at beyond the bed, mirror-dresser and window, it was sparse to the point of being downright stoic. Her lack of vision continued to confound her; when she reached up for her blocked eye, all she could feel was cloth.

_What the hell?_

Alright, first things first. She needed to address her clothing situation, or lack thereof. Damn that Naruto~! Did he honestly expect her to walk around in nothing but bandages all day? Kuvira was sure it was yet another less-than-subtle dig from the belligerent blond; it just had to be. Ohhh, there would be a reckoning for this, she swore it!

Incredibly, when she opened the dresser, there were clothes inside.

Clothes meant for a woman.

There was even a note:

_For Kuvira-chan. Your old clothes were shredded during our fight, so you'll have to make do with these for now. Hope you like orange!_

_~Naruto._

An eye twitched as she dressed herself.

"Damnit."

Clad now in a simple silk tunic of pale amber, she dared to approach the mirror; and what she saw there gave her pause. The face that stared back at her was utterly disheveled and swathed in bandages near her right eye, the wrappings clean and fresh, suggesting they'd been recently changed near the bruises. Well. That would explain things. It didn't ache so much as it did throb, but...wait, what? Pushing her hair out of the way, a small drawing revealed itself on the patch covering her eye...

A smiley-face.

Her fist shot out, smashing the mirror to bits.

**_Na~ru~to~!_**

Her wrath would've evolved still further, had not the subtle scent of food reached her nose. Sure enough, her stomach took that moment to remind her that she hadn't eaten since yesterday. Kuvira groaned. Curses. Fine, food first, and _then _she would have vengeance.

Following the gentle aroma of breakfast, she soon found herself in another room altogether, a humble den where the blond no doubt ate his meals. Like everything else int his seemingly humble abode, it seemed, with a ramshackle table and a pair of chairs that looked like they'd been fashioned from bits of driftwood. Whomever Naruto was she thought wryly, a carpenter, he was not. Still, a plate of piping hot food awaited her near the end of the table, the crisp scent of bacon and eggs wafting promisingly against her nose. Odd. Two chairs, and three plates. Hmm...

Another note was attached to one of those plates, and this one made another muscle jump in her jaw.

_Hope you like bacon/eggs and toast. We're fresh out of ramen~!_

_~Naruto._

_Thunk!_

The sound from before resounded in her ears again, so close this time that Kuvira nearly jumped out of her skin. Okay, what the hell _was_ that?!

Snagging a piece of toast from the table-it was still warm, oddly enough-she followed the sounds until she finally beheld their source. Limping through an arch, she found herself staring at a small field behind the house, an idyllic little field with overshadowed by a sakura tree in full bloom, the occasional pink petal fluttering away in the breeze.

Across the way she could see the green-eyed girl of before-Tara she recalled, resting beneath the comfortable shade afforded by both the billowing branches and the fence, a dark crop of her hair easily hiding her fresh face, sheltering it. And a little further down the way...

...and there he was.

Naruto didn't seem to notice her at first; intent as he was on his morning routine.

He worked his way through the kata seamlessly, a flawless series of flowing combinations that would've put any bender to shame. Shirtless, clad in nothing more than a pair of simple brown trousers, he seemed to be in another world entirely, such was his finesse.

_Nice muscles._

Scowling, Kuvira ruthlessly smacked her libido into oblivion. But her eyes weren't anywhere near as obedient.

Blond hair danced wildly in the air as his body spun forward, issuing smooth kicks and flowing swings with nothing more than practiced grace. Fighting unseen enemies coming from every side, the youth shot his arm out, impeccable poise and precision behind every strike. For a seemingly simple kata it was amazingly complex, flowing from punch to kick and vice-versa with maximum force and no energy wasted. It was, in a word, incredible. Flawless in its mastery. So focused was he on the exercise that he failed to hear his new name being called.

Here in the yard, his body warded away from prying eyes by the building's comforting shadow, he was far too gone into his morning regiment to notice anyone else but himself. He'd worked himself into a frenzy with a workout like this; nothing short of an outright attack would jar the blond from his rigorous schedule. Kuvira watched a moment longer, mesmerized by what she was witnessing.

Another sweat-slicked limb pistoned forward, tiny droplets sheering away from the motion. He swung again, and a fine sheen of wind and golden energy reduced them to so much steam. For a long moment he stood in place there, his fist extended, breathing evenly.

Then he noticed her.

"Ah, and the sleeping beauty wakes!" he cried, grinning. "I take it you already had breakfast?"

Kuvira flushed, well aware that she'd been caught staring at her nemesis. Hastily, she gobbled down the piece of toast she'd been holding with her mouth. Too late, he noticed, sauntering over to her with a jaunty wave and that same, full-throated laugh that sounded like rocks being ground into dust. With a sharp whistle, he tossed his staff up, hurling it against the tree near which his protege was resting.

"Oi, Tara!" he called. "Wake up!"

The young firebender jolted her feet as though she'd been struck by lightning. At first Kuvira thought she'd judged wrong-that the young one was going to receive a nasty welt for napping. Not so. Instead Tara surprised her yet again, this time by the snatching the wooden missile out of the air and flinging it right back at her master. Those eerie jade eyes met hers from across the way, glowering. _I don't trust you. _That look said it all in one sentence, spoke volumes for her.

"Thatta girl." Naruo bobbed his head in approval, shouldering the tool. "Come along now, time for chores."

Kuvira returned the leer tenfold, flicking two fingers back at the girl. Tara scoffed, sprinting past her, nudging her hip harshly as she went.

"Good kid." Naruto mused aloud as she ran off. "Bit stubborn, though. So, did you enjoy the show?"

The casual remark nearly floored Kuvira!

"Not at all." she snapped. "I fail to see how I would enjoy such a thing."

"I was talking about Tara's little performance just now." A blond brow arched in bemusement. "Heavens, did you think I meant my little exercise? I wasn't aware the Great Uniter was such a pervert."

"W-What was that, anyway?" she asked, desperately trying to change the topic. "I didn't recognize the style."

"Oh, that little routine, there?" Naruto shrugged, snatching up his staff in hand and moving inside. In the end, she was forced to follow. "Well, it doesn't actually have a real name, as of yet. Its kinda a mix of the frog fu I learned when I was younger coupled with a few of the more traditional styles and a smattering of bending forms."

_Interesting._

"Hope you don't mind if I freshen up a bit." He called, walking ahead of her. "You probably don't want to stand down wind of me with this stench."

Sure enough, at that moment, Kuvira made the mistake of inhaling with her nose. _Blech!_ Her face curled inward and her stomach did a flip.

"Not at all." she managed, gagging. Really, what choice did she have?

"See, now where were those manners earlier?" laughing, the blond waltzed inside and proceeded to cleanse himself with a wet rag fetched from the sink. Oddly enough, the smell of stale sweat and exercise faded only a few moments later as he administered the towel to himself, almost as if it had never been. Humming softly, the one-armed guardian continued to scrub himself down, heedless of her wandering eyes-STOP IT! Doling out a vicious mental slap, Kuvira shook herself back to sense once more, grasping for something, anything to distract herself.

"You know, I expected more from the village chief." the words-disdain!-jumped out of her lips before she could think to take them back.

"Why should I live in luxury when my people do not?" Naruto remarked, tugging on a blue-green tunic over his head. "I'm already rich in all the ways that matter, anyway. What need have I of material wealth?"

An awkward silence persisted between them after that.

"So that...attack, you hit me with...that was airbending, wasn't it?" Kuvira hazarded a guess, daring to break the tension with her inquiry. It would make a twisted sort of sense really. Many people had acquired the skill after harmonic convergence. Granted, it _didn't _explain how he'd lit up like a solar flare, but still...

"Nope." Naruto walked right out the front door without another word, his brisk stride once again forcing her to keep up. He was leading her back toward the village she realized, but at that moment she didn't care, she'd rather have the answers-the solution!-as to how he'd made a schoolyard mockery of her. She had to know! She just had to!

"Explain."

"Don't feel like it." he yawned.

Kuvira nearly stumbled over her own two feet at this flat refusal. What was it about this man that infuriated her so? His dissent constantly and consistently appeared to trip her up, left her second-guessing herself, even on the most basic decisions. She didn't like it, not one bit. Why, why why whywhywhywhywhy WHY did he frustrate her at every turn?! As if he enjoyed it! He probably did, too!

"But you owe me an explanation!"

"Do I?"

"YES!"

_"Weeeeeeeeeell,"_ The whiskered warrior lazily scratched at his chin. "I didn't exactly hit you with that Rasenshuriken at full power. If I had, you'd be paste. That was what...hmm...maybe a fourth? No, it was less than that." he paused, tilting his head in contemplation. "Tenth? I think it was. So hard to tell these days. No wonder you survived. Still, lucky you! Not a single scar to be seen! Aside from, you know...that one right there."

Kuvira didn't consider herself to be a vain women, but in that instant she couldn't suppress her reflex.

"Was it that bad?" her hand absently favored her eye.

"Not really. I wasn't particularly aiming for your eye, but the Rasenshuriken has a mind of its own sometimes, ya know? Relax," he ammended at her churlish scowl, "I've done just about all I can for it, so it should heal in a few days. Eh, its what I get for holding back I suppose. Really, you should be glad you still have the eye at all! Now, come along, there's work to be done."

"Work?" his words took her by surprise, her footfalls coming up short behind him.

"Why, yes, work." he snorted glancing back at her. "Thought you were getting off scott free, did you? You can help me in the fields."

Kuvira felt her face purple with slow, heated indignation.

"I knew I should've taken this place by force," she muttered to herself. It would've been so much easier! Had she known she would be dealing with the sheer iron will that was Uzumaki Naruto she would've brought all of her troops down upon him and his people, crushed that fire right out of them. It was too late for that now of course; the entire village was on its guard, wary and ready for anything out of the ordinary. Any sort of attack would only result in humiliation on her part now, she knew. And yet...

"Take the town by force?"

"Will you stop eavesdropping?!"

Naruto cocked his head aside, like a dog listening to a new sound. "Huh." he remarked suddenly, peering at her. "Did I ever mention you're beautiful when you're flustered?" Too close! Backpedaling, she tossed a stone at him, one that was nimbly evaded with the least of ease. Unthinking she struck out again, only to meet the same result when her boulder careened wildly off the mark.

"Bloody adorable." Naruto laughed, alighting only feet away.

Kuvira colored. "W-What?"

"Nah, its nothing." he shrugged, rolling his shoulders together with a decisive pop. "So, I take it you're ready for round two, already? Gonna kick your ass now." Before she could think to defend herself, the young man flashed gold, blindingly bright. Burning red eyes locked on her, fastening to her soul. "So," he hummed pleasantly, "Lets do this again, shall we?"

Kuvira readed herself...!

_...and __three moves later,_ and he had her on her ass again, pinned.

"See, you're still recovering." he drawled, lips brushing hers in a way that sent warmth to all the wrong places. "Not even a challenge. Now, I'm going to be frank with ya. You have two options right now. You can shut your pretty little mouth and do what I say, _or _I can kick your ass seven ways to sunday. Your call.S

"Get off!" She swiped at him, but her fingers tasted only empty air. He writhed around her, and her face wound up in the dirt, his boot on her back.

"How did you do that?!" she growled! "You only have one arm!"

_"Hmm?"_

Naruto glared for several seconds without letting up, veins throbbing visibly in his forehead. Those sky blue eyes were cast in shadow, and gleaming with baleful blue light. His lips were curled back almost of their own accord, barring the blond's teeth in a decidedly sinister snarl.

"I must be mistaken," he purred; the sound like a knife across her throat, "No, no, no, I _must _be. Because I could've _sworn _you just said something about my arm, and the _last_ person foolish enough to make a crack on ol' stumpy here now has to walk around on their hands, so...

_**...what did you say?"**_

Everything collapsed down around Kuvira all at once when she met that gaze. She could feel it crushing her. Everything was moving so fast. She was drowning in water she couldn't see. Every fear she'd ever had came back to her at once. Monsters surrounded her. Her stomach inverted, her hope shriveled out of existence and her heart caved in. It was like staring into the face of death itself, gazing upon the reaper. An overwhelming killer intent crashed down around her ears, threatening to suffocate the very life out of her lungs if she didn't answer correctly.

"N-Nothing."

"Oh? Must've been my imagination, then." Laughing he tumbled off her and found his footing. "Getting old, I am."

"You don't look it." Of course he didn't! They were almost the same age!

"Old in war and the ways of the world, love." Naruto corrected, striding relentlessly forward once more. "You ever fought in one?"

"A war or the world?"

"Both!" Naruto cackled! "C'mon, we're wasting dalyight."

"How does anyone put up with you?" she exclaimed, aghast, trapsing after him

"Must be my charming personality." He remarked wistfully.

"I'll leave you out here for the buzzards, I swear, I will."

"Now, now, I don't look for trouble...trouble looks for me!"

Ah, and he was trouble.

Kuvira didn't have an answer to that, so, in the end, she followed him into the village and then, despite the foul looks she received, the fields themselves. She swore she was only doing this to gain his trust-to make him turn the village over to her. Then she'd leave and never think of this annoying dissident again. The moment she had what she wanted she'd put him from her mind and forget all about today. But as was often the wont when concerning Uzumaki Naruto, her day didn't go as planned.

It was the day...

...that this so-called "dissident" changed everything.

**A/N: Aaaaaaaaand there we be! Kuvira's found herself subjected to the life of the common man as punishment for her actions...but how long will it last? Will she learn to enjoy the simple life? Will she and Naruto join forces? Will they stop bickering? Will their sexual tension EVER subside?**

**Find out next time!**

**Yes, this is the one from near the end of the series-he got his arm blown off by Sasuke and the ensuing aftershock flung him across dimensions. As to whether he'll ever get his arm back, eh, who knows? The mark has moved to his opposite hand for obvious reasons; even with only one arm, he's still a force to be reckoned with. Pairing is NarutoxKuvira! Why, you ask? Because I can't stand Batar Jr. He was...is...not the best guy. He struck me as a whiney brat in the season, with no real explanation for his actions. I've watched all of Season Four, and nothing I've seen clarifies it.**

**So, sorry if it seems like I bashed him in this chapter, but that's that. He'll have much less of a role in later chapters anyway, so don't worry. ALSO! Apparently, according to Michael Dante Dimartion the final pairing for Korra was...Asami? I know they held hands at the end...but DANG! Wasn't expecting them to go and make it official by post! Now, back to this story. How did it come to be, you ask? **

**Simple. Naruto and Kuvira are quite alike, personality-wise. They are fierce, determined, and most of all...DRIVEN.**

**So I thought to myself, someone who openly defied Kuvira, preventing her from uniting the Earth Kingdom. Wouldn't that get under her skin? Ohhhhh, yes it would! Naturally Naruto came to mind, a little older, a little wiser, but still very much himself, always willing to stick up for those who need it, and kicking the asses of those who deserve it! It'll be quite amusing to see him interact with Kuvira over the course of this story...**

**So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

**...Review, Would You Kindly? TIS A SHOCKER! WHAT LED TO THIS POINT?! THAR BE TWO THIS TIME!**

**(Preview)**

_"Lord Naruto!"_

_Whatever she might've said died as a villager hastened to the blond's side._

_"The intruders! They're..._

_Naruto's staff exploded violent in his hand, showering him and Kuvira with shards of broken wood. Lifting his head slowly, he craned his neck loosely and somewhat erratically to look at the direction of Kuvira, angry and twitching, a spasmodic movement to his motions._

_"Seems a brat doesn't know his place."_

* * *

_"You WRETCHED little-urk!_

_Batar gurgled in surprise as the blade pierced his throat._

_Protruding from his jugular, it silenced him in a way that words could never hope to._

_It was a very clean cut, he thought distantly as he slumped to the ground, through and through. A solid piercing, almost instantly fatal. By the time his killer ripped their weapon free, he was already well on his way to death's door; all that remained was a good hard shove to cast him through. __Choking on his own blood, he struggled to look up at his murder, at the one who'd thrust a metal blade from his jugular._

_"Kuvira...I don't...understand...?"_

_The Great Uniter stared down at him, and he saw only ice in those cool black eyes of his fiance. Where had he gone wrong, he wondered?_

_"No," she said simply, raising her arm, "You don't."_

_Then there was only blackness._

_Cleaning her arm, she glanced back to her men._

_"Get this trash out of my sight."_

_"Yes ma'am!"_

_With that task accomplished, she returned her attention to her charge._

_"Are you alright?"_

_Tara rubbed awkwardly at her broken leg, whimpering._

_"Kinda..._

_"You don't have to be a big girl about it." she said, kneeling before her. "I know it hurts."_

_Tara sniffled softly as the earthbender took her into her arms, trying her best not to cry. "But...But..._

_"Hey, hey, its okay." Kuvira soothed quietly, stroking small circles on the little firebender's back. "Shh. Shh. Shh." she cooed, holding tight. "Hey, do you want to see something? Look up. Look at that. Its incredible, isn't it?" she gestured to the flags and streamers they'd spent the better half of the day hanging about the village in preparation for the upcoming festival. "All those pretty colors we set up. Aren't they beautiful? Don't worry about anything else. Naruto will be back soon. I'll be right here with you until he gets here. Its okay. Its okay..._

**R&amp;R~! =D**


	3. Heart-Shaped-Box

**A/N: HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR TO ALL! ****Still I return again! Things have been absolutely crazy for me as of the last few months what with the surgeries and all, but now at long last, I feel I can devote my attentions to this fic anew as I've intended to do! Of course, now that they're not cutting me OPEN anymore to work on my heart I've also come up with a quite a few new ideas! I can promise ya'll that the next few chappys are going to be nothing short of absolutely brilliant! So sorry for the wait! There's a bit of a long author's note this time, because there are a few matters I want to address.**

****But I also want to bring something to your attention. I've been putting this off for a while, but this needed to be done. I have PURGED many of my older works. That's right, I've deleted or adopted off many of the stories that I will no longer be continuing. Fear not, my most popular fics will remain, but most of my old stuff from back in 2008 and 2009, when I had no idea what I was doing is being all but removed from the site. Out with the old, in with the new, as they say! Still, if anyone is interested in any of my old stuff, say the word and its yours to continue. But I've held ya'll up long enough!****

**Now that we've addressed all those issues, I just wanted to say: Thank you. To all of you who reviewed and have yet to review, and especially those who noticed my improved writing style. You all know who you are, and I thank you for telling me what you think of my other works.**

** I look forward to hearing more from you as we begin down the strange, convulted path that is this story. But first, some information!**

**This story is an offshoot of a sort, taking place roughly a few months or so before season four of Korra. Fair warning now! I've taken a few liberties with Kuvira's character here but not many; just exacerbating the fact that she does NOT like to lose, or be defied. So when a tiny little village and its charming protector refuses her offer of "protection", welll, she doesn't take too kindly to that, which sets off a fascinating chain reaction! If you haven't seen season four of Korra, I highly reccommend it, else you'll be hopelessly confused!**

**But I've held ya'll up long enough! Now...**

**...ENJOY MY LATEST WORK! Its nice and LOOOOOONG! Also plenty of funny and feelsome moments XD Aye, this chapter is a bit bittersweet. For obvious reasons...aye, and a bit of language toward the end! Ye have been warned!**

**...and aye, ye might recognize some characgters here. TIS INTENTIONAL!**

_"You've been drinking, haven't you?"  
_

_"Ehhh? Shaddap...leave m' alone..._

_"Not happening, Kuvira-chan!"_

_(Kuvira's third conversation with a very strange young man...)_

**Heart-Shaped-Box**

Kuvira knew she was playing with fire.

And what happens when you play with fire? Yes, that's right...

...you get _burned._

In hindsight, it was like poking a sleeping platypus-bear with a very sharp stick; those first few pricks might not wake it from its slumber, but keep at it long enough, and eventually, you were going to get mauled. She supposed Naruto was the same. He might act all warm and fuzzy to his people, but beneath that unassuming demeanor, he had the spirit -mettle!- of a hardened warrior. For all the kind words and gentle gestures, he never truly lowered his guard, even in sleep.

For someone who claimed to be "a humble farmer" he certainly didn't fight like one. Those placid blue eyes hid a keen mind.

And by the spirits, he was a tricky little bastard!

No matter what methods she tried, regardless of her strategy or timing they inevitably ended in defeat. Attacking while he slept? Blown through a wall and made to repair that very same wall the next day. Poisoning his meals? Naruto'd somehow switched the food. So it was only her soldiers that fell ill, sickened, and died. She even tried paralyzing him with shirshu venom, for crying out loud! That stuff wasn't easy to get! Kuvira found herself paying the price for that mistake, too; Naruto chi-blocked her and left her as powerless as a newborn lamb for an entire evening.

A shame, really. She could've used someone like him in her army. But that shame was nothing compared to the constant defeats she suffered, day in, day out.

Nothing!

Worked!

It was as if she was trapped -locked more like!- in a heart-shaped box. It may have looked nice on the outside but a box was still a box, and Kuvira was powerless to escape this one. Now she was trapped by pride and duty both; she couldn't admit defeat without losing face, but neither could afford to she simply cut her losses and leave. No, she'd invested herself too heavily in this to turn back now, and she knew it. So did he. It was galling!

And the entire time he took her attempts on his life with a smile!

What kind of idiot grinned when you tried to kill him, oi?!

Three more challenges passed.

Three more miserable days.

Three more failures.

THREE!

"You know," Naruto said to her one day as she lay sprawled on the ground after her latest attempt, gasping for air, "You're not getting anywhere with this." he straightened slowly against the waning light of the setting sun, popping the joints in his back. "Hell, if anything, its getting even easier for me to beat you. You feelin' sick or something?" Kuvira wanted to scream! Shriek! She wanted to rip up the earth and hurl it at him! Why couldn't she defeat him?! She was stronger, faster, had all the drive and determination she needed.

Yet here she was, in the dirt again.

"Why can't I beat you?!" she cried!

"Because I have something you don't, idiot." Naruto tapped his forehead, chuckling as he strutted aways to the west. "You have the ambition, sure." he said, staring at the sunset. "Definitely the drive. I know you want to prove yourself to the world, to unite the Earth Kingdom and bring on a new era of "unity" and somesuch. But try as you might, ya don't have this." a sigh, a shake of the head. "You don't _really _care about anyone as people, they're all just pawns to you, chess pieces in the grand game. Even Batar. And because of that, you'll never beat me."

"What could possibly-

_"Something to protect."_

Almost casually he spun and drove his staff into her stomach, knocking the air out of her before she could rise. Damnit! How did he sense her?! Gasping aloud, she lashed out with a flowing hail of stones. Impossibly he flowed around her and before she knew it, she was on the defensive again. A defense that was short-lived. Naruto's staff coiled around in a single, liquid movement; crashed down against her hip with bone-jarring force, flinging her down and cratering the earth beneath her.

"Something to protect...?" Kuvira made a squelching sound as she sank back to the ground, struggling to wrap her mind around the notion. "What does that mean?"

"It means you're weaker than me." the maimed blond poked her in the cheek with his staff, frowning at her petulant expression. "And getting weaker, if today's contest was any indication. C'mon now, Kuvira-chan, its like you're not even _trying _anymore. What, did ya lose your will to fight, or something?"

"...!"

Kuvira glowered up at him furiously, unable to find the words to reply. His last attack had punched through most of her armor and ripped her braid to pieces, leaving her hair a messy tangle around her face. Shaded by a dark curtain, her eyes narrowed murderously, squinting into the sun. Gloved fingers clenched against the battered soil, dirt curling within her fingers. Damnitall. Damn him. DAMN! HIM! Why couldn't she win?! WHY?! He was just one man! She was the Great Uniter! She'd beaten countless others like him, trod upon all enemies before her.

Yet why, why, why why why _whywhywhywhywhy **WHY**_ couldn't she crush this one-armed cripple?!

"Huh." the blond remarked quietly, suddenly, bringing her up short in her rant.

Kuvira blinked.

"What?"

"You look pretty nice with your hair down." pearly whites flashed in the evening, beaming bright. He must've seen her perturbed expression, because he hastened to explain. "I mean, you've always got all that armor on and all, not to mention the braid. Sorry," he thumbed his chin, smiling impishly. "Its just, I forget sometimes, ya know? But take the metal away, let out the braid a bit, and then its like "wow" there's a woman under all that, ya know?"

Kuvira had felt her visage begin to warm the moment she'd heard the word pretty; by now she was almost certain her face was stained crimson. Worse, she didn't know if her flush stemmed entirely from anger or mere embbarassment. Why? She told herself she couldn't care; in matters of the fairer sex the whiskered warrior was as dense as they came-a brick wall had less substance than him. If there was one thing she'd pegged him for, it was that much at least. Still, something about those words got under her skin.

Now, she went deathly still. It wasn't fair.

How dare he.

"Sh-Shut up...

How _dare_ he.

"Hey, I'm paying you a compliment, here." Naruto replied. "Here." he reached down a hand, doubtlessly expecting her to take it. "I think that's enough for today, don't ya-

_How dare he toy with her like this!_

Something broke.

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Her hand snapped up violently, flinging the dirt into his face.

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" the blond recoiled and retreated with a startled yelp, falling on his right foot, then scrubbing at his eyes. "Oi! Not cool!, Kuvira-chan!" he cried! "That's cheating, ya know! I wasn't ready! Time out, time out!"

_"You're mine!"_

On the contrary, the Great Uniter didn't waste an instant. Once she realized she'd genuinely surprised the normally unshakable warrior, her body was already in motion. Frustration overrode common sense, sending her hurtling over the edge. Shrieking,she stomped down hard, carving a boulder out of the terrain and thrust out her right hand, preparing to fling a pillar of rolling earth at her helpless opponent. This would end it. Finally! Finally, after all this time, all his mockery, she would have the victory she so sought. She could already see it in her minds eye, her attack thundering forward-

It never made it.

Instead of finding her mark, Kuvira's entire body jerked wide to the right, sending her aim skewing eastward. The moment gone, Naruto's head snapped up, sensing the attack. In a single, practiced movement, the once blinded blond gathered himself up leaped away, leaving the avalanche of earth to pass harmlessly by underfoot.

Kuvira had only a moment to taste the bitter tang of failure once more.

Then every muscle in her body clamped down as one, united in their failures, her world spasming wildly, control of her self betraying her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the reason for her sudden weakness, a hot, blue-white spark arcing away into the waning light, howling with the roar of thunder. Lightning. But where had it come from? The sky was clear and though night was indeed fast approaching, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, let alone a storm. So why...how...who...

_...aargh!_

The pain hit, then, the point of her shoulder shrieking in agony, sweeping the shock away in a wave of blistering pain. She tried to move her arm. Failed. Someone had blasted a hole clear through the muscle and joints, knocking off more than just her aim. Damn. Her legs buckled all at once, destroying her balance and slamming her forward into the dirt. Hurried footsteps hastened towards her prone form and she beheld the culprit in full, the one responsible for laying her low.

Her mouth opened in a small, round O of surprise.

Choppy dark hair swayed wildly in the breeze.

"Don't you dare!" _Tara_ thrust a pair of clenched fingers before the eathbender's baffled visage, her bright, golden eyes burning intensely, glistening with tears. "Don't hurt papa!" A spark danced at the tip of those small fingers, a dire warning of what would happen if she tried again. Kuvira gawped, rooted where she lay, unable to move. She knew any sign of aggression on her part would result in a bolt straight to the brain, no matter how young Naruto's "daughter" might be, she'd no chance of missing. Not at this angle.

There's a fire in those eyes, one she knows all too well.

Not bad.

Incredulity vied with pride, neither gaining the upper hand. And so, there was a stalemate.

And in that stalemate, Kuvira struggled to understand just what the _hell _was going on.

She had heard stories of a firebender's ability to create lighting of course; but how could someone so young create such a precise attack? That attack...it...it_ hurt!_ She could already feel the pain radiating throughout her ruined and burned shoulder, the only reason she wasn't bleeding out. Infuriated, she swung herself towards the young firebender, trying, failing, to rise up on her good arm. Tara cries out and suddenly those fingers are a great deal closer, pointed tips pressed against Kuvira's own forehead.

"I said don't move!"

Pride yields to anger

"Why you-

"Oi."

A shadow fell over her.

"That was a nice trick, ya know." Naruto's voice rumbled in her ear. "You almost had me. Oh." Blue eyes slid to her mangled arm. "That's a bad wound. I better do something about that. But first-lights out!" Impossibly he flowed around her and before she could react, his hand was on the back of her head. "Sleep." A single word, and the weight of the world crashed down around her.

_Blackness._

...finally.

* * *

_(The Next Evening...)_

* * *

"So, this is where you ran off to."

"Go away. Kill you." Kuvira hisses softly, stubbornly nursing her drink as he approaches. She dares not speak anymore, for fear of him catching wind of the slur in her voice. Prays he won't catch wind of the liquor. She's lost track of the time again; the hours have blended and flowed together like the wind and she can't remember when she sat down. Or how much she's had to drink. She's been avoiding him all day, refusing to speak to him after another, blistering defeat.

Somehow, he'd still managed to find her.

"Will you please go...

She casts a glance at him, prepared to snap, but something stops her. It strikes her that his face is actually _clean _for once, devoid of the normal stains and grime that comes with his day to day work. By contrasts, it as if she's looking at a completely different person, and her mind can't seem to wrap around it.

He's discarded his orange-green clothes for once, replacing them with red and blue robes that both flatter and distract all at once. His normally dirty hair is now clean and bright. Huh. For a man who wasn't afraid to get his hands-hand!-dirty, Naruto cleaned up rather nice. Not that the Great Uniter had any room to complain; she'd all but been forced into her own, insipid outfit this morning-it was that, or walk around the village in her birthday suit. Galling as that might have been, she honestly would've preferred it to this.

_This._

A mint-green dress clung to curve she'd rather have kept hidden beneath her dress uniform. Her arms were cold, uncomfortable against the night air, and she was certain she was showing entirely too much of her back and shoulders. Her hair had once more been freed from its braid, but _this time _it'd been combed and coiffed by the women of the village. She'd outright refused any sort of make-up. All in all, she barely recognized that stranger staring up at her from within the glass.

"Spacing out again?"

When next she looked, Naruto was at her elbow.

"Stop doing that?!"

"I'm a ninja, babe! Its what we do!"

She never understood his ability to simply appear and disappear like that, but she does know this:

Naruto's ability to mend wounds is nothing short of miraculous; her arm, though stiff, has already regained some semblance of motion. She expects it to be healed then...then what? Gah. She can't think. Too much to drink. Clouding her mind. In a rare lapse of character, she'd opted to drown her sorrows rather than face them. Instead _they_ were drowning _her._ The village is bright and lively all around her; she can hear laughter and the sound of music in the distance. A festival of some sort? She doesn't recall. Whatever the case, she isn't in the mood for Naruto's antics. Not today.

"Look," he tried, "I'm trying to help you, here. Have you considered our bargain?"

Her hand clenches around the glass.

"Help?" a note of bitterness slips into her voice. "You certainly didn't seem too concerned about your little bender's _help_ when I had you on the ropes."

"Aw, don't be like that."

"Go. Away."

"Nope."

The ceramic threatens to splinter entirely in her hands as Naruto sidles up to her, claiming the seat beside her at the bar. It can't quite be called a tavern after their last brawl; its little more than an outdoor stand with seats and a roof over their heads. Drinks haven't changed though. Neither has the barkeep. Sten is a great big, bear of a man, easily dwarfing them both. He works hard and says little, quietly mixing up her next order, then sweeping it across. Whatever he's serving, its strong stuff, and she'd already knocked back at least three glasses.

"Give me one on the rocks, big guy." Naruto calls out, waving jovially at the giant. Sten grunts and a few motions later the 'farmer' has a glass in his hands. "Ah! Good stuff! Never gets old." He drains it in a single gulp, and another is in his hands almost before its cousin hits the counter. Four more drinks followed in this succession before he finally paused on the fifth. Blue eyes sought hers.

"So?"

"So, what?" Kuvira watches him like a hawk; albeit a slightly tipsy one, refusing to flinch. _Don't trust him,_ her mind rails at the sly smile wreathing his lips. Very kissable lips_-gah! No, no no, no! Bad Kuvira, bad! Down_! _Do! Not! Trust! _A fierce flush rose to her cheeks. Bad enough that she was out of her armor and in this ridiculous dress, but this...ohhhhh, this couldn't bode well.

"What do you think of the party?" Naruto's abrupt question nearly floored her.

"What?"

"The party." Naruto said slowly, enunciating each word. "P-A-R-T-Y."

"Are we...celebrating something?"

"A' course we are!" he boomed! "The village is officially four years old now!"

"Ha?"

"Yeah. I founded this place four years ago to the date, back when things were a little crazier with her royal bitchiness. Good on Zaheer for offing her. Cheers! Bahahaha!" the blond beamed happily at the mention of the now deceased Earth Queen, staring wistfully into his new glass. "Wait, what was I saying? Right, right. We always celebrate around this time. Sometimes it goes on for weeks. Now that things are calming down, some of them have gone back to their homes and families, but most return just for this."

"Tell that to that kid of yours." she growled. "If she has a home somewhere out there, why doesn't she go back to it?"

"Well," Naruto let go of her shoulder with a laugh, patting her back and slamming down a shot all in one motion, "You didn't actually attack her, so I'll let _you_ off with a warning this time. Tara's always been skilled, but she's a little too hotheaded for her own good. Even if she hadn't blasted ya yesterday, I'd have gotten you in the next blow, anyway."

Not one to be outdone, Kuvira snapped back a drink of her own. "And if I had attacked her?"

Something stirred in those cheery blue orbs.

...you'd be dead." he stated simply, clapping her on the back once more. "Another drink!"

"What is this, a contest?" It took a physical effort to say those words in the proper order. "You're matching me."

"It is if you want it to be."

The silence held for two more beats.

Then, almost simultaneously, each snatched up another of Sten's glasses and downed the contents within.

Kuvira downed a second for good measure.

"Ha!" she rasped around the burning liquid coursing down her throat. Wow. The room was definitely beginning to spin now, but she would never admit that to her adversary. No way, no how. This was war, and she must be victorious! "Who is she, anyway?" she tried, frowning. "The kid, I mean She's got a...got sum...skills. I mean, did you see her, back there? One blast and **"KA-BOOM!"** she flung out her arms for emphasis, parodying an explosion, "I was _down_! Knocked me right on my ass! Haha, ass." Too late, her increasingly addled mind caught wind of what she'd just said.

_Shit. _

She was losing control of her tongue. Among other things.

"Uh, you alright there?" her drinking partner leaned forwards.

"Whaaaa? Yeah, yeah," she waved him off. "I'm fine."

"Oookay. From what I'm told, her parents weren't anything special." Naruto arched an eyebrow at the continuing slip, but downed two more glasses and maintained the lead regardlessly, much to her ire. "They died when she was young if you recall, so she barely remembers them. But her grandmother-well, I'm told she was something of a prodigy." he shrugged, returning to his attention to the glass in his hands. "I suppose it runs in the blood. Meh, not my concern." a finger idly traced circles in the wooden counter. "She's my kid now, so I'm going to look after her, no matter who she is."

Kuvira found herself on the verge of saying something most foolish, so she and snatched up his glass as well as her own and downed them both at once.

Naruto paused.

"Hey-

Sniffed.

-you've been drinking the hard stuff, haven't you?"

Kuvira squinted at him.

"...have not." the words came out in an utter jumble.

"Aha! You have!"

"Ehhh? Shaddap...leave m' alone...

"Not happening, Kuvira-chan!" Naruto's face told her all she needed to know, he was enjoying this. Bastard. Well, she couldn't have that, could she?

"If you don' I'm gonna...gonna hit the town..show 'em...show 'm all whoz boss!"

"Is that so?"

"All will before the Great Uniter!"

"You do realize that when you hit the town there's a fair chance the towns gonna, you know, _hit back?"_ Naruto humored her with a small smile. "Especially Sten. He doesn't take kindly to armed intruders. Even the girls, ya know." As it to second him, the massive man behind the counter turned, revealing the massive broad-sword on his back. Despite herself and the amount of alcohol she'd consumed, Kuvira felt herself go just a teeny bit pale at the sight of the blade.

"That is correct, Kadan."

Even intoxicated, the earth-bender knew better than to press him on _that _point.

"Ah...well...its getting late." Naruto stood suddenly, looking flushed. "Sorry, but as much as I'm enjoying your company, I gotta tap out. Need to be able to see straight tomorrow, and all." For a moment, Kuvira couldn't believe what she was hearing-was he actually giving up? No, that wasn't possible, Naruto _never _did that...unless...

"You're just looking for an excuse to avoid losing." she accused, scowling.

"Guilty as charged." he laughed and offered a tipsy bow. "I concede defeat!"

"Ehhhh?" it might have been the booze talking, but she was suddenly loathe to lose his company. "You're seriously going?"

"Yup."

"Then...then I win." she called out at his back. Her mind made the connection moments later. "I win! I finally beat you!"

"Yeah, yeah, I guess you do."

"Ha!" she crowed, reveling in her victory. "You gave up! I knew you couldn't handle it!"

"Right, right, now I'll just be go-

_"Pussy!"_

Now, Kuvira must have been truly hammered; because the word-taunt-leaped out before she could think to stop it. Naruto paused in mid-step. Spun. Whirled to face her. His expression was utterly unreadable; that should have been Kuvira's first clue that she'd just ventured into unknown territory. Dangerous territory. Slow, measured steps carried him back to her, but instead of sitting down, he brought his face to hers. Warm breath ghosted over her face as their foreheads met, blue eyes boring intent into her own.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" the words were a hiss, dry and crackling, like a flame. "Coulda sworn you just called me something."

"Pussy." she repeated innocently.

Naruto twitched.

"Could you not call me that?"

A bleary grin stole across her face.

"P-U-S-S-Y."

Blue eyes narrowed to angry red slits.

"Call me that shit one more time."

Kuvira beamed.

"Pu-

CRASH!

Before she could so much as utter the second syllable, Naruto took her by the shouldes and slammed her through the bar. Kuvira only distantly registered the impact before she realized they'd stopped moving. He'd all but wedged her into a wall on the eastern side of the pavilion. Dazed, she blinked, quietly alarmed-and strangely pleased-to find his body pressing against hers and his knee...well, it certainly shouldn't be _there!_ A quiet moan trickled past her lips as Naruto pushed closer.

_**"Careful, Kuvira-chan."** _the word itself was a warning, his lips brushing hers. "I know you're smashed off your ass right now, but you're pushing the limits of being feisty."

"I'll show you feisty." she growled.

He dropped her, leaving the Great Uniter to topple to the floor in a heap.

"Hey!"

"That settles it. You're _drunk._ Take a nap there and let me know when you're sober."

"I'm not done with you!"

Kuvira wasn't quite sure what made her do what she did next; it could have been the alcohol, what he'd said, or even her own self-loathing. Regardless, she moved. Before the blond could react she picked herself up off the floor, and moved her hands to his neck, circling her limbs like a noose. Thankfully she didn't trip and make herself look like a complete fool. That would have been too embarassing to bear. In any case, she managed to stand up and reach him without major incident. And she only lost one of her shoes.

Yay!

"Okay, what the hell. Let go." Naruto's deadpan was almost comical, she thought; he clearly hadn't expected her to run up and hug him. It was clearly one of the few times she'd managed to genuinely surprise him. He offered a token resistance, but didn't escape.

"I should warn you," he murmured as her mouth neared his, "I'm a cuddler."

Kuvira growled.

"Less talk. More touching."

Then she kissed him so hard their teeth clicked together.

* * *

_(Meanwhile, Outside The Village...)_

* * *

Batar wasn't happy.

No, perhaps that wasn't the right word.

Having long since moved on from the boiling, volcanic rage he'd experienced in the beginning, this was a new emotion. He was past that, now. His anger-wrath-was a cold one, frigid and glacial. Almost contemplative, in retrospect. But make no mistake, he _was_ angry. Furious. That blasted village was like a wall he simply couldn't surmount, no matter how hard he tried. He saw it everyday when he rose from bed and dreamed of tearing it apart when he slept.

A tad bit obsessed, no?

The one time he tried to sneak in himself, the _ONE_ time he dared to actually run past the guard at the gate, he'd been thrown out! For too long, this anger and humiliation had been left to harden inside of him, forming a cold crystal of wrath in his heart.

The target for this spite was twofold:

Naruto.

Kuvira.

Kuvira and Naruto both.

Not only had the former refused to return to camp, but, she'd all but barred their soldiers from entering! Even him! INCLUDING HIM! He'd been forced to watch from afar as the one called 'Naruto' made a complete and utter fool of her at nearly every turn, turned her best tactics upside down. Worse, she seemed to have taken the bait; devoting herself to taking him down, and nothing else. Not once had she come back to him, to their bed, since this farce had begun. And with time, had come doubt.

He hadn't wanted to doubt Kuvira, he really hadn't. But what he'd just seen had stripped all that away. He'd seen it all through the binoculars. The scuffle, the fight. The...

_Her lips on his. Hands, pushing, pulling..._

"DAMNIT!" With a howl he flung the binoculars away, hurling them into the trees. "I'll kill him! I'LL FUCKING KILL HIM!"

No, no, no. It wasn't Kuvira's fault. Couldn't be. Naruto was to blame. He'd...he'd manipulated her, somehow. Yes, that was it! It had to be!

Now his suspicions had solidified.

Right now he was impotent; powerless, unable to do anything to change the situation at hand.

All that was about to change.

Tomorrow, they would be rid of him. Tomorrow, he would make this right and finally, FINALLY they would be gone from this place and at long last...

...they would be together again.

* * *

_(Morning...)_

* * *

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Crap.

Kuvira woke slowly to the light of morning, distantly aware of the pounding in the back of her brain, but aware nonetheless_. _White sheets mingled with the scent of sex, silk tickling her bare skin. And something else. All at once, she abruptly became aware of a weight settled against her. Of something poking her back.

_Hello!_

Oh.

Wait.

Just a hand.

_ Sooo._ Was her first, pragmatic thought, _Not a dream, after all._ Her first clue was the subtle brush of someone's hand against her hip, calloused fingers curling gently against her curves. Unbidden, a gentle humming purr rumbled up from her throat. Turning her head, she shifted her body to catch the culprit in the act. Kuvira knew at once, even without looking, that Naruto was there; that he was the one she'd slept with last night. Oddly enough, the Great Uniter couldn't bring herself to regret the act, either.

"Hey." sure enough, blue eyes met hers.

...erm, hey yourself." she managed lamely, feeling like an utter fool for saying thus. Ancestors preserve her, what the hell was wrong with her? All the tension was gone when she looked at him; instead of the white-hot anger and urge to overcome him, she felt utterly at ease. Relaxed, even. Was it because she'd finally bested him at something? Or had she simply been seeking a good tumble this entire time? No no no, it couldn't have been that...

...could it?

"Awkward?" Naruto offered?

"Awkward." she agreed.

"Madam, you wound me!" he clutched his hand over his heart. "I wasn't aware I was such an inadequate lover!"

"No! No, that was good its just...

...you don't know what to do now?"

"You could stare unabashedly at me. It only seems fair; considering I've been doing the same to you for the last thirty seconds."

"Hey!"

Her own gaze flicked down, noting the scars. There...well, more than she'd expected. A veritably tapestry of old gouges, sundered skin and white lines greeted her vision. Unable to stop herself, she reached out to touch one, just above where his lungs should have been. Naruto didn't seem to mind. Thoughts of Batar -of guilt for what she had done and was continuing to do- flickered through her mind like a candle, and like a breeze, his presence snuffed them out.

"Okay, so are going to keep doing the staring thing? Because its getting kinda weird...

"Naruto."

"Eh?"

"Stop talking."

Before he could speak further she grabbed him by the face and dragged his mouth to hers.

The kiss was warm and sweet and slow and it _warmed Kuvira to her very bones. _Like liquid fire, it seemed to stretch on for hours on end-his arm wrapping around her waist and drawing her close. Heating her veins and searing her soul as his tongue rolled against hers. It was bliss, pure and simple...until her headache reasserted itself with a fiery vengeance, reminding her of last night.

"Owowowowow...did anyone get the number of that sky bison?" she groaned, pulling away.

Naruto cackled quietly. "'Fraid not. You went pretty heavy on the shots last night. You're going to be hungover for a bit."

His words did her little comfort.

"So, did we...

She knew but she had to hear it. NEEDED to hear it. A moment of awkward silence passed between them.

"Yup."

Kuvira shifted restlessly.

"Na-

"Lord Naruto!"

Whatever she might've said died as a villager burst through the door. Without so much as a backward glance at the naked woman in his bed, he hastened to the blond's side.

"Intruders! They're...

Naruto's staff appeared and instantly exploded violently in his left hand, showering him and Kuvira with shards of broken wood. Lifting his head slowly, he craned his neck loosely and somewhat erratically to look at the direction of Kuvira, angry and twitching, a spasmodic movement to his motions. Hauling himself out of bed, he flung clothes at her. By the time she'd caught them, the "farmer" had somehow already dressed himself-a look like hellfire raging in his eyes.

"Seems a brat doesn't know his place."

* * *

_(...)_

* * *

Kuvira was only a few steps behind Naruto when she saw what was happening.

She saw Tara-gah-and Batar, took in the scene at a glance. Heard the shouting. Naruto was only a few steps ahead, yet even he wasn't fast enough. Neither realized what was happening until they saw the knife in the man's hand, saw the girl struggling in his arms, left leg hanging loosely, broken by..._Batar?!_ Kuvira recognized her subordinate instantly. Whatever plans he'd hand, they'd doubtlessly gone awry. Judging by the singed state of his uniform and several smoldering, broken bodies of her metalbender's strewn across the street, it had gone most wrong indeed.

"I said bring me Uzumaki Naruto!" he was raving, wild-eyed at the crowd. "RIGHT NOW! Or I'll kill her! I swear I'll kill her!"

Kuvira twitched, unable to believe what she was looking at. "That idiot...! I told him not to do anything rash...

Her words trailed off as

"Ohhhh, someone is going to die. A _lot_ of someones!"

A furious hiss from Naruto informed her that she had only seconds to act. Mere moments to prevent the absolute massacre of note only Batar, but her entire force as well. It wasn't a guess; she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't be satisfied with her fiance's demise. It was either Naruto or Batar. Should have been an easy choice. But it wasn't. Naruto had tormented her for days now, besting her left and right at every turn imaginable.

With a terrible pang, she realized she _did_ care for the blond. More than she did Batar.

Much more.

Then, incredibly, Tara reared back and sank her teeth into Batar's arm.

Hard.

"Aargh!" he cried out, dropping her like a screaming howler-monkey. "You WRETCHED little-urk!

His words warped into a surprised gurgled as the blade pierced his throat.

Protruding from his jugular, it silenced him in a way that words could never hope to.

It was a very clean cut, he thought distantly as he slumped to the ground, through and through. A solid piercing, almost instantly fatal. By the time his killer ripped their weapon free, he was already well on his way to death's door; all that remained was a good hard shove to cast him through. Choking on his own blood, he struggled to look up at his murder, at the one who'd thrust a metal blade from his jugular. What he saw there took his heart and dashed it into a thousand pieces.

"Kuvira...I don't...understand...?"

The Great Uniter stared down at him, and he saw only ice in those cool black eyes of his fiance. Where had he gone wrong, he wondered? When did the love in her eyes wither away, replaced by anger? Try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to understand what had brought about this change in his fiance.

"No," she said simply, raising her arm, "You don't."

Then there was only blackness.

Cleaning her arm, she glanced back to her men.

"Get this trash out of my sight."

"Yes ma'am!"

With that task accomplished, she returned her attention to her charge.

"Are you alright?"

Tara rubbed awkwardly at her broken leg, whimpering.

"Kinda...

"You don't have to be a big girl about it." she said, kneeling before her. "I know it hurts."

Tara sniffled softly as the earthbender took her into her arms, trying her best not to cry. "But...But...

"Hey, hey, its okay." Kuvira soothed quietly, stroking small circles on the little firebender's back. "Shh. Shh. Shh." she cooed, holding tight. "Hey, do you want to see something? Look up. Look at that. Its incredible, isn't it?" she gestured to the flags and streamers they'd spent the better half of the day hanging about the village in preparation for the upcoming festival. "All those pretty colors we set up. Aren't they beautiful? Don't worry about anything else. Naruto will be back soon. I'll be right here with you until he gets here. Its okay. Its okay...

Tears welled up in the bender's eyes, spilling over despite her best efforts.

For a precious moment, the dam held.

And then, with a tearing sob, it broke and the floodwaters came pouring free.

But Kuvira, _Kuvira_ held tight.

Never letting go.

**A/N: Aaaaaaaaand there we be! Needless to say, whatever Batar was planning, it backfired. Horribly. And now we can't help but wonder...where will things go from here?**

**Find out next time!**

**Yes, this Naruto is the one from near the end of the series-he got his arm blown off by Sasuke and the ensuing aftershock flung him across dimensions. As to whether he'll ever get his arm back, eh, who knows? The mark has moved to his opposite hand for obvious reasons; even with only one arm, he's still a force to be reckoned with. Pairing is NarutoxKuvira! Why, you ask? Because I can't stand Batar Jr. He was...is...not the best guy. He struck me as a whiney brat in the season, with no real explanation for his actions. I've watched all of Season Four, and nothing I've seen clarifies it.**

**So, sorry if it seems like I bashed him in this chapter, but that's that. He'll have much less of a role in later chapters anyway, so don't worry. ALSO! Apparently, according to Michael Dante Dimartion the final pairing for Korra was...Asami? I know they held hands at the end...but DANG! Wasn't expecting them to go and make it official by post! Now, back to this story. How did it come to be, you ask? **

**Simple. Naruto and Kuvira are quite alike, personality-wise. They are fierce, determined, and most of all...DRIVEN.**

**So I thought to myself, someone who openly defied Kuvira, preventing her from uniting the Earth Kingdom. Wouldn't that get under her skin? Ohhhhh, yes it would! Naturally Naruto came to mind, a little older, a little wiser, but still very much himself, always willing to stick up for those who need it, and kicking the asses of those who deserve it! It'll be quite amusing to see him interact with Kuvira over the course of this story...**

**So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

**...Review, Would You Kindly? TIS A SHOCKER! WHAT LED TO THIS POINT?! THAR BE TWO THIS TIME!**

**(Preview)**

_Su yin scowled._

_"Who are you? Where's Batar?"_

_Kuvira stiffened._

_"Erm..._

_Naruto yawned and scratched the back of his head._

_"Well...ah, y'see, its kinda complicated..._

**R&amp;R~! =D**


	4. Balance

**A/N: WARNING! NAUGHTY BITS WITHIN! THIS CHAPTER IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK! Also, a very wordy chapter with lots of talking and doing, but not so much in the way of action. Sorry if that isn't your cup of tea.**

** BRING ON THE REQUEST YEARS!**

**And is anyone interested in drawing NarutoxKuvira on deviantart? I think its just adorable XD**

**I think this chapter serves as a reminder that, while this particular Naruto may not be as spry as he once was, he's still deadly.**

**And you do NOT want to make him angry.**

**Anywho, I'm back and better than ever! Flames will not keep me down! Hate will not stop me! I will NOT kill myself! This story will never die! ****I look forward to hearing more from you as we begin down the strange, convoluted path that is this story. But first, some re-information!**

**But I've held ya'll up long enough! Now...**

**...ENJOY MY LATEST WORK! Its nice and LOOOOOONG! Also plenty of funny and feelsome moments XD Aye, this chapter is a bit bittersweet. For obvious reasons...aye, and a bit of language toward the end! Ye have been warned!**

**...and aye, ye might recognize some characters here. TIS INTENTIONAL! Also, I own no lines related to TFS or any other movies. Full credit to those chaps. I use them for entertainment purposes only. That said...**

**...off we go! No complaints about the previews or when they appear, please. I'm trying to keep everyone happy with sneak peeks like this =D**

_"So you're actually going through with it."_

_"I thought the big fucking **pack** made it obvious."_

_"Fair enough. Tell me, what made you change your mind?"_

"Balance."

_(Kuvira's fourth conversation with a very strange young man...)_

**Balance**

Sometimes, Naruto wondered if he'd done the right thing.

He wondered if, in the long run, it would've been easier to simply roll over for Kuvira at the very beginning. To give her what she wanted and let her be on her way. She would've let him be and in return, he would have likely never seen her again. The Great Uniter would bulldoze a path through the Earth Kingdom to wherever her heart would take her and that would be that. True, she might well become a dictator if he let her be, take control of the world and rule it with an iron fist. But it wouldn't be his problem anymore. None of this messy business that came with trying to make her see sense. Too late for that, now.

Now he'd gotten himself involved.

Now he was too close to step away.

Now he was trying to be a guiding hand.

Now he wanted to help shape events to come.

Now, the closer he got, the more difficult it became.

_Now_, as the sun sank beyond the horizon at long last, as night came and this spirits-forsaken day finally came to an end, the one-armed shinobi found himself wondering what, if anything, he should do. Left a-pondering as he sat at the edge of the hearth, quietly reveling as the heat of the flames soaked through his thin coat to warm his skin. A light tap at his temple only served to further exacerbate the situation. For the first time in a long while, he felt old. And with that, came responsibility, thus his musings.

The short uprising had been quelled, at least.

Alas, it did little to warm his spirit.

Tara had long been tucked away in bed, her sleep deep and hopefully free from nightmares. Kuvira had fussed over her for hours before he'd finally stepped in and saw to the cuts and broken bones himself. Even then, the Great Uniter hadn't left her side. She'd fretted over the poor lass as if she were her own, and despite his anger, Naruto found he simply didn't have it in him to make her leave. She was just as likely lurking upstairs somewhere, maintaining her vigil over the battered little bender. Sooner or later, she would realize there was simply nothing more they could do. Tara would heal in time, now she just needed rest.

The conflict was over, and there was nothing to be gained from fretting on and on about it.

Of course, saying such things often proved easier than putting them into practice.

Naruto's sole regret was that he hadn't gotten his hands on Batar first.

Death was too good for those who assaulted little girls.

But what had caused him to act that way?

To take such rash actions?

Though he stared long and at length into the fire, he found no answers there, only heat and death. Fire was life, but too much of it was death. Balance was the key. Compromise. A happy medium. Like all things. If you didn't find balance in this world, you didn't last long. Batar hadn't been balanced there, at the end. He'd lost his mind and done something reckless and for that he lost his head. But not by his hands. If he'd had his way, Kuvira's associate would be languishing in the dungeon beneath the tormenting tools of Kolgrim. Alas, he was dead, and one could not extract pain from a corpse.

Kuvira had seen to that, and her actions had knocked his view of her askew.

At first, dealing with her had been like trying to redirect an avalanche with your bare hands alone; to physically force those jagged, tumbling rocks along a more constructive route up the slope, rather than allow them to run roughshod over everything in their path. Kuvira was that rock slide, and he, the one trying to direct it, bend it-her!-channel her energies down a peaceful road. It was hard, gritty work, and, even after all this time, he wasn't sure if he'd been entirely successful in it. That woman was driven and stubborn, not easily swayed by words, let alone actions.

He supposed he was the same.

The Great Uniter might have warmed up to him a bit, but he was under no illusions as to where her loyalties truly lay. Her heart stood firmly with the Earth Kingdom. She wanted to do what she thought was best for the nation, and by the spirits, she was going to do it, with or without him. Who else could stop her? The Avatar? No one had seen or heard from her in years. Republic City? They didn't concern themselves with the affairs of the outside world beyond their borders. The same could be said for many of the other nations. The new Air-Benders might be willing to do their share, but they were too few and her numbers too many.

Because Kuvira was special.

She possessed that drive, that raw charisma that made you want to follow her to the ends of the earth. He'd seen the light in the eyes of her followers, those who willingly served her. It was the same drive that kept the people of this humble town at his side. That same inspiration drove those who served in her army. Because they believed in her, in her goals, in what she stood fore. And at heart, Kuvira's goals _were indeed good_, even if her methods weren't always gentle or kind.

He saw the truth now.

Kuvira wasn't just an avalanche, not some messy tumble of rocks you could simply shove aside. She had the spirit -mettle!- of an indomitable might. She was sheer steel. Metal. If you wanted to reason with her, if you wanted her to see sense, then you had to _hammer _it into her, repeatedly and often. If you didn't, she was just as like to ignore you as consider your opinions. Nothing less would do. Naruto remained certain he must've hammered at least _some_ sense into her; else she wouldn't have killed Batar in the first place.

That troubled him.

In the bigger picture, anyone who killed so easily, could they truly be called good?

When she'd first come here, it had been to conquer. To take their resources, add them to her empire and move on. Nothing more, nothing less. She hadn't shown an iota of concern for him until he'd finally beaten her within an inch of her life. Only then did she take a step back. From there, she'd challenged him countless times after that. When she'd failed time after time, she drunk herself into a stupor, leading up to the events he both remembered fondly and with a touch of charign. One slip shouldn't redeem her, or her actions. By all rights she should've still been an enemy and he should've tossed her out after her subordinate's actions.

Yet she'd saved Tara.

Tara, that sweet little girl with a heart of fire, his daughter in all but name.

Would someone evil go out of their way to do save a small child?

But at the end of it all, everything came down to Balance.

Or more aptly, balance between them.

If Kuvira was unflinching steel, then he himself was pure, raw nature; an immovable object and an unstoppable force. Neither were willing to yield, much less compromise. Yet he she _needed_ someone to temper her and guide her or she would make everyone her enemy. And she might even win. What then? What would become of the world if he simply told her to get out and never come back? He knew the answer. Chaos. And all of the deaths and disaster that followed would be on his head if he didn't stop her. Two choices lay before him. One of two options. He realized it, now. He could either break her so badly that she'd never be a threat to anyone ever again, or he could take that high, rough road and see where it went.

All this thinking made his bad arm start twitching all over again.

Naruto cast the old, ruined limb a wry, annoyed look, sighing.

"Well?" he asked of it, "What do _you_ think I should do?"

As ever, the mangled appendage didn't deign to reply.

Naruto chuckled quietly into the silence.

...I'm talking to my own arm. Great."

He'd never partircuarly pined after the loss of a limb; even in today's day and age he refused to receive an artificial one. A wooden limb couldn't stand up to the tasks required of it and in an age of metal benders only a platinum creation would ever truly suffice. They didn't come cheap, even with the village's monopoly on the rare substance. It seemed an unnecessary extravagance, pointless, when he was responsible for so many. He could always create a temporary chakra construct if he really needed use of both arms, which was rare indeed. No one had forced him to fight at his full potential in well...years.

_'Years? Oi, I'm getting old..._

The loss of a limb wasn't much of a handicap when you could break mountains and create countless copies of yourself. It had forced him to master one-handed seals, to hone his techniques to a level he'd never thought possible in his wildest dreams. It had made him strong. In that aspect at least, it was a blessing. Now, if only he could decide what to do about matters that _didn't _involve him. Of course, he could just leave. Right now. Walk out to Kuvira's camp and massacre all her men. Then her. It wouldn't even be that hard. All he had to do was stand and-

No.

He'd left that life behind.

If Kurama had an opinion on the matter, he wasn't talking. Naruto wasn't surprised. After all, he'd barely exchanged so much as three sentences with the old fox in the last year. Oh, he was still very much present deep inside of him, he simply chose to sleep these days. Which was good, given that Naruto's own state of mind currently bordered on agitated.

What would he have to say about this? That he was honestly contemplating murder...

"For crying out loud," He muttered quietly to himself, palming his face. "Am I seriously considering this?"

"Considering what?"

For all his kind words and noble gestures, Naruto never lowered his guard. Even when he was sleeping he was still fully aware. It came with being a shinobi. You never let down your defenses. Never. Paranoia was near constant a companion. As such, he wasn't at all surprised when the light sound of footfalls reached his ears, heralding the arrival of the very one who'd been haunting his thoughts. _Kuvira._ Old instincts had him on edge at once; it took everything he had to school his face into a mask of impassivity as she appeared in his peripherals, moving with intent. Who else would think to disturb him at such a late hour?

She'd reclaimed her uniform since he'd seen her last, the stiff steel of metal shoulder braces sending shards of light dancing across the floor. Her hair was also let down, he noted absently, watching her circle the room to him. At length she gave up and took a seat beside him. He liked her hair down. It gave her a certain look, one he found absolutely adorable. If only she'd keep it like that.

He didn't look up until she actually laid her head against his shoulder.

In that moment, his mind ceased to function.

Unusual.

_'...eh?'_

_That_ finally proved enough to shock the weathered ninja out of his impassivity and make him stiffen; the simple, overt intimacy of Kuvira's actions-with no alcohol involved this time!-nearly shattered his calm outright. What was going on here here? She'd never been one for overt displays of emotion; that she'd done so now had him baffled. For the first time since they'd met, he didn't know how to react. Blunt to the bone, Kuvira had always been easy to read, yet this sudden display of affection threw him. Mildly disconcerted, he chose to remain where he lay and see what, if anything, she was planning.

"She's asleep," the earthbender continued by way of conversation. The words felt awkward, stilted, even to Naruto's ears.

"I noticed," he replied gruffly. "Out cold and snoring."

Kuvira studied him for a long moment.

"You're angry, aren't you." she ventured warily.

By way of answer, Naruto opened and closed his fist.

"Shit, Sherlock. First name no."

"Sarcasm doesn't become you."

"Neither does_ treachery."_

"Treachery?" Kuvira blinked. "You think _I_ had something to do with what happened today?"

"The timing was suspicious." Naruto replied flatly.

"I can't believe you!"

"Neither can I!"

Anyone else would've quailed beneath the vitriol in his voice. Not Kuvira. If you hurt her, she hurt you back. Twice as hard. That was just the kind of person she was. Her head reared back at the bite in his words to be certain, and her eyes flashed with hurt indeed, but when she turned to face him again those dark orbs burned like angry molten lava. If there was one thing the Great Uniter despised above all else, it was being accused of something she hadn't done. And just like that, things escalated.

"Don't worry," she intoned with false sweetness, "I won't be spending much more time in this slimy mud hole of yours, anyway."

Bright blue eyes snapped towards her.

"Mud hole?" he balked, words momentarily escaping him, "Slimy?! My home this is!"

"Naruto! I'm _trying_ to have a serious conversation with you!"

"So am I." the blond tilted his head to regard her with the full weight of his gaze, pursed lips forming a thin line of irritation. "But y'see, I'm failing. Miserably. And I'm sorry for that. Its just that I'm so _agitated. Wanna know why?_" A hand closed around her shoulder, squeezing until the bone beneath began to protest sharply. Kuvira hissed in pain and tried to wriggle free from his grasp, to no avail. His grip was stronger than any steel. Naruto leaned forward then and pressing his visage close to hers, so very, terribly close until their foreheads touched and she finally found herself forced to look into his eyes.

**"You."** the words rolled of his tongue, dark and thunderous, almost as if another were speaking through him. **"You're the problem."**

Something in that gaze nearly had her gibbering like madwoman on the spot.

There was nothing there.

Nothing.

At all.

Not even the faintest semblance of emotion; as though she were staring into the void and the void itself were staring back. This was a ninja. This was a shinobi. Someone who could shrug off their emotions at the drop of a hat. A ruthless killing machine made flesh. It didn't matter if his killing days were far behind him, he was every bit as deadly now as he was then_ andohgodywhyarehiseyesRED?_ For a fleeting instant, Kuvira _did_ see something in those eyes, and it terrified her. Something large. Something dark. Something with nine tails. What was it? She felt like a gnat beneath its gaze. A tiny speck, in the eye of eternity. It saw her. It grinned at And then it was gone, its presence masked on a swell of throaty laughter.

With that, Kuvira suddenly realized she'd never seen Naruto angry, before.

It simply didn't occur to her; he'd always been downright chipper.

She'd never roused his wrath like this.

Who knew how he might retaliate?

Because he was smiling now.

And it was all teeth.

Dangerous.

Jagged.

Teeth.

"W-What?" The Great Uniter managed eloquently.

Naruto wasn't having any of that.

"Because you see, Kuvira-chan," he purred softly, his voice adopting a dangerous, silken edge, "I have a problem. "It all started when this pretentious little shit waltzed into my town and tried to demand my allegiance." Pearly whites flashed in a dangerous, toothy grin. "Being the benevolent guy that I am, I decided to teach her the error of her ways. It takes a while, but she starts to come around. For awhile there, I almost think she might actually listen. Turns out she's a good person, real firebrand between the sheets, too." That clawed vice tightened imperceptibly, pulling her into his lap until she found herself-not unwillingly-straddling him. "So I start to like her. Start to think she's not so bad, maybe...

Kuvira suspected she knew where this was going by now.

She wasn't entirely certain she disliked it, either.

It had absolutely nothing to do with Naruto.

Or his ministrations.

No, not at all.

Not that spike of pleasure mounting between her legs, she told herself. Nothing about the way her body sang in his grasp, the pounding of her heart as she planted her hands against his chest, or even the heady rush of lust clouding her vision. It was none of these that clouded her judgement as he did..._things_ to her with that hand of his. Spirits, he was barely even _touching _her shoulder and yet it took all she had just to think straight! The more she struggled against this feeling the worse it became; worse, because these were _her_ feelings, amplified tenfold, every fiber of her being hyper-sensitive to the touch.

What manner of devilry was this?!

_"And theeen~!"_ Naruto's voice warped into a slow snarl as his lips ghosted across the tan expanse of her neck, "For reasons beyond my understanding, her minions decide to fuck me over." A hand took hold of her chin, forcing One of attacks my guards. Another breaks into my village and tries to kidnap _my_ daughter, and now the boss of said _dead_ minions insults my home while trying to keep me from going on a killing spree. So you see my conundrum. I'm a patient guy, but there's only so much a guy can take. So what should I do?"

"Nnngh!"

Kuvira tried to open her mouth and reply, tried to speak up, fought to form something _anything _in the way of words, but only a moan emerged. Her body betrayed her, hands fisting tightly around the loose collar of the blond's robe, tearing at it. Sheer will kept them there, from descending further. She wanted to do...things to him. Nasty, awful, wanton acts that you had no business doing to another person, even one so depraved as him. All the while, Naruto didn't even try to move. He simply sat there as she shifted in his lap, his hand still fixed firmly to her shoulder. Grinning,

Smug bastard!

"I...you should...what are...

"Ara, why so hot and bothered?" the blond smiled trollishly. "Cat got your tongue?"

Words refused to come to her.

"You should know," he hummed, "You look absolutely adorable right now. If I wasn't a man of principle I'd probably take you here and now."

Kuvira bristled.

"But, I'm a nice guy, and I have my principles." the ancient shinobi continued on a sigh, "So I'm going to let her-you-take back that remark about my home." Chortling softly, he leaned forward once more, his nose brushing against hers. "We'll pretend none this ever happened, neh? You never said anything, and I _certainly_ didn't use my chakra to stoke your erogenous zones and make you purr like a smitten kitten. Sound fair?"

It took all her strength just to manage a nod.

Naruto's smile thinned ever so slightly.

"See? Not so hard, then, is it?"

A snap of his fingers and the sensations assailing her vanished all at once. For a fleeting moment, she thought she caught sight of something golden in her peripheral vision. It vanished when she turned to look at it, her weakened body slumping against his, clutching against him for support. Chakra? What was that?

And how had he used it?

Kuvira deflated.

It was her loss.

Utter defeat.

"Well?"

"I'm sorry." she declared sullenly, fixing her gaze firmly on the floor and refusing to look at him, cheeks flushed with equal parts embarrassment and shame. Still, a spark of defiance flickered to life in her eyes. "And I'm leaving for Republic City tomorrow morning. I thought you should know."

She took some solace that her words seemed to yank the rug out from under Naruto, at least.

Because he released her.

Drew back, sharply so.

Arched an eyebrow.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." the blackette reaffirmed. "You won." he must've started, because she turned her head against his shoulder to look up at him, her long hair tickling at the nape of his neck. "Don't look so surprised. Its the truth. I can see now that you won't be budging. If I try to ignore you and move on the state of Yi instead, you'll stop me, won't you? After all, they're practically your neighbor."

On some level, he wasn't sure to be proud or hurt that she'd finally given in.

"That still doesn't explain why you're leaving."

At that, Kuvira's smile thinned and she nestled her head deeper into his neck.

"I'm tired."

Naruto felt his frown deepen.

"Okay, I stopped screwing with you and you're still being clingy. What's eating ya?"

Kuvira _still_ wouldn't look at him.

"I'm tired of fighting you." To her surprise, she was, and it felt a true relief to say it, to see the shock flit across his whiskered visage. "You're infuriating, you know that? You do everything backwards! I should hate you, but I don't. You're everything you shouldn't be and yet so many are loyal to you! Its maddening! I can't stand it! So I'm leaving." she repeated, folding both arms before her chest. "You're just a part of it."

"Meaning...?"

"I'm supposed to give a speech and surrender power to some powdered prince." she snorted derisively, brushing a stray ebony strand from her face. "Wu-something-or-other. He's never ruled a day in his life. I've been putting it off for weeks now though, and I can't afford to delay any longer. This mess just served to help me get in gear."

"And you're not seriously just going to hand the reins over like that, are you?"

This time, she _did _look at him, her smile entirely genuine.

"You know me too well."

"You'd be offended if I didn't." Naruto snorted, but the words lacked the bite he'd intended and he found himself mirroring her expression.

Together, they shared a rueful laugh.

"So, what? You're planning on letting things fall back into chaos?"

"What? No! Not at all." she replied, aghast, shaking her head. "I've spent the last three years getting the Earth Kingdom back on track; I'll be damned if I surrender it to some highborn floozy now." A note of defiance entered her voice at that, her dark eyes staring intently into the flames as though haunted by some fell vision of the past. "Noble leaders and kings are what got us into that mess in the first place. The Earth Kingdom needs someone who knows what its like; what it means to be one of the common folk."

Ah. He was beginning to understand her, now.

"And you think you're qualified to do lead."

She stiffened, slightly. "I do, yes. Unless-

Naruto bristled, eyes widening sharply.

_'Alright, tapping the breaks, there!'_

"Me? _Rule?_ No, no, no." he waved his good arm emphatically, jostling her against his side. "You've got the wrong person, there. I _hate _leading. Too much paperwork. But I don't like following either. I'm perfectly content with running my little village as it, thank you very much. No need for anything more. I won't stop you from leaving. Though, I might be sad to see you go." As he said it, he realized it was true. In the short time that she was here, Kuvira had given his life new meaning. Not so much purpose as intrigue, a marked change from the routine he'd unwittingly fallen into. Even her constant challenges had been entertaining.

On the morrow she would be leaving and things would revert to how they'd always been.

Naruto wasn't sure he could stomach that.

It pained him to admit, but he'd gone and grown rather fond of her.

A beat of silence passed between them and for a moment he thought neither of them would break. Then Kuvira spoke up, uttering a single word.

_"Dissent."_

"Beg your pardon?"

Kuivra shifted ever so slightly beside him, tucking her knees beneath her body and turning until she was facing him directly. Her hand snaked out and snatched his, firm fingers locking around his wrist. It would've been easy to break her grip but something in those dark eyes held him, bade him hold his tongue a moment longer.

"You are a voice of dissent." the Great Uniter repeated emphatically, barreling onward before he could think to interject. "Yet you care about this country, about its people. I need that. I need...well, _you."_ she said, averting her eyes when he snorted in derision. "You're not afraid to speak your mind, and you have the strength to back it up in spades. I can't intimidate you into agreeing with me, which is all the more important given the magnitude of what I intend to attempt. I want a voice of reason. Not an underling, but an ally. An adviser. In short, you."

"Ah. Like...Batar."

Kuvira flinched slightly.

"Naruto-that was different."

"I don't think it was, actually."

"By all means, enlighten me, then."

Firelight flickered between them, casting Kuvira's face into shadow.

...must I?"

"If you want me to trust you? Yes."

On some level she and Batar had clearly cared for one another to a great degree; that last fleeting glimpse of betrayal in the man's eyes before his death had spoken more than words ever could. Yet Kuvira had cut him down without hesitation. Who was to say she wouldn't try the same with him? Not that she'd be successful mind you, but he didn't relish the idea of being even more on edge than he already was. She was clearly trying to propose an alliance of sorts, but what could he possibly have to gain by entering into such a union behind disaster?

"Well? he prodded at last, "Why did you kill him, hmm?"

"I had no choice-

"Bullshit. There's always a choice." Naruto chastised her sternly, biting back the words before he went too far. "You chose to end Batar's life when you could've just as easily subdued and captured him. Hell, you could've waited for me to step in; I would've taken him before he could blink. Yet you killed him. Again, why?"

Kuvira grit her teeth and looked away, warring with herself.

At length she sighed and raised her gaze.

"Because of that girl of yours."

A brief blink.

"Tara?"

"When I was a little girl, I was cast aside by my own parents like I meant nothing to them." her free hand clenched around a cushion, digging deep gouges into the yielding fabric. "When they left me, my father nearly cut my throat to make certain I didn't try to follow them. My mother had to talk him out of it. In the end, he beat me and left me to rot in a gutter. I was dead to them in all but name." she bit her lip and looked away, gripping his palm tighter as though she could somehow will the memory away if she just squeeze hard enough.

But they didn't.

"How could I just stand by and watch the same thing happen to another child... when I...!"

Flicker of old, painful memories assailed Kuvira all at once as she stared into the shifting flames and for a fleeting moment she was a eight years old again. _You're nothing but a burden. We don't need you._ The brush of a knife against her neck, so close to drawing blood, ending her life with just a tug...! The scene went no further; for her mind rejected it violently and shuddering, she curled inward on herself, her face screwing up as she fought to lock down the painful image. To her surprise, Naruto's arm encircled her a heartbeat later, currents of warmth ebbing from the the outstretched limb and into her body.

She almost didn't want to look up, fearful of what she'd find there.

In the end she needn't have worried; for the quiet stoicism on his face told a painful tale indeed.

"You believe me?" she almost dared to hope.

"I've always been able to tell when someone's lying." the blond murmured, sounding slightly sheepish for the first time since they'd met. "Call it a...perk of this lifestyle. I'm good at reading emotions as well. You were putting out some powerful vibes there. No way that's a lie." he beamed down at her, teeth flashing in a wry grin. "So color me convinced." the simple declaration must've shattered the last remnants of her composure, for that roguish grin grew positively sunny. "That settles it! All's forgiven!"

...ha?"

"Do I need to repeat myself? I said we're good!"

Once again, Kuvira's tongue failed her.

Not so her mind.

_Damnit._

Yes, that word summed up Uzumaki Naruto quite nicely. He seemed intent on defying her every expectation at every turn. When she expected him to be calm he tormented her. When she expected anger, he refused to take things seriously. Yet here when she was east prepared for it, he chose to comfort her. Try as she might, she just couldn't get a handle on him. He was a complete and utter enigma, one she just couldn't puzzle out. Maddening. He led not through force and strength, yet simple kindness. An ally to those beneath his banner, nightmare to his enemies. She saw a glimmer of herself, in that.

_And she was falling for him._

The realization rocked Kuvira to the very core of her being; in no small part because she'd actually deigned to admit it to herself. Why? Because he was the first to stand up to her? The first man to prove that he was her equal? The first to make her question her ideals? Perhaps it was his wit? His drive? His determination to take the high road in all things? That raw _need _to protect everything that was his, and flay anyone who dared take from him? It might even be all of those things. She couldn't even begin to quantify it, only that she cared.

_'Care?!'_ a girlish voice in her hear squeed. _'You're head over heels for him!'_

Lies and slander!

_'Well,'_ the more rational part of her sighed, _'This is unfortunate.'_

Kuvira silently slammed the lid on them both.

Regardless, she found that she had grown rather fond of the blond and his unusual talents. That and she was loathe to leave him behind. An equal, she mused. It had been so long since she'd had one. It wasn't quite love-not yet-but there was something there, something she couldn't bring herself to deny. The smallest thorn of regret pricked at her and held her back. Batar had been a pawn to her, one she'd felt for mind you, but those fledgling feelings were paltry compared to this. That still left them with the awkward matter of whether or not Naruto would accept her offer, at any rate. By contrasts, her short-lived feeling's for Su's son didn't matter in the-

Oh, god.

_Su._

What was she going to tell her?

Caught up in the moment, she hadn't given it any thought at the time, but she'd killed Batar. Killed him. She didn't even know if he'd been buried or not yet! And she was going to have to _tell _her about it, because Su yin was like that, she _knew_ when you were lying no matter what you said and_ ohspiritsthiswasgoingtobeawful..._

"Well, I guess that means this is goodbye," Naruto was saying when she came back to herself, "Kinda sucks, really."

"You're not coming, are you?"

The village head shrugged.

"I used to make snap decisions in the past, when I was younger." he confessed, turning his gaze onto his mangled arm. "They landed me in a bad way. Everything worked out in the end, but I tend to be choosy when it comes to being rash like that. I mean, if I up and left without saying anything, it wouldn't go over well. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go traveling with you. I want it more than anything. It'd be fun to tear shit up, just like the old days, but...

...you can't." Kuvira finished.

Naruto favored her with a sad smile.

"A leader's duty is to their people, after all."

Kuvira wasn't quite sure what compelled her to kiss him then, only that she did.

Shifting in his lap, the Great Uniter scooted forward and pressed her lips to his planted both hands on his chest. Then, as surprise dawned on his face, she gave him a mighty shove, using her weight to force him down against the soft cushions. When he tried to rise she twisted a leg in his, tripping him up. Naruto could've escaped in any number of ways-she knew this-and yet he simply stared back at her, a look of mild consternation crossing his whiskered cheeks.

"So, is this a confession, or...

"Shut up and kiss me."

Naruto did just that and from there, he wasn't given anymore time to protest. She didn't reply to his goading; instead she began to shrug out of her coat and Naruto's breath caught in his throat.

She melted into his embrace immediately, her lips parting for him on a moan.

Neither noticed when they tumbled off the couch and onto the hard floor; indeed, a touch from Kuvira's hand and the stiff earth became soft as clay.

Her hands fisted around the sash of his tunic and pulled, even as his fingers found the thin clasp of her own uniform with a tug. It had barely fallen before he began attacking her neck with his lips, planting a searing line of kisses along the length of her collar. Kuvira hadn't thought herself physically capable of purring aloud until that moment. She was wrong. A sound she'd never dare utter in public escaped her, regardless, and Naruto's laughter had her coloring a deep, rose red.

Making love when you were drunk off your ass was one thing; when you were fully coherent, well, that was something else altogether.

"Did you just purr?" he snickered.

"I did not."

_"Did."_

Simultaneously angered and aroused by the blond's antics, she rolled her shoulders for him and cast her will into the bits of metal within, shucking the heavy garment aside. Divested of her metal vest, her upper torso seemed to glisten in the firelight to his eyes, tan skin catching the waning illumination and sending it dancing across her breasts. Naruto's hand did more than that. Kuvira preened slightly at the unexpected attentions, a flicker of her ego regaining its former stature beneath the blond's minsitrations.

With Batar it had been little more than frantic coupling in the dark when no one was looking, driven by want and need. Naruto seemed to openly take the time to admire her every curve, paying equal attention to every part of her. When he continued to stare overlong however, she rolled her hips against him invitingly, catching his wandering gaze.

"My eyes are up here."

Naruto laughed.

"So they are."

He grabbed her then, and in the flickering firelight, their shadows intertwined as one.

There were no more thoughts of alliances that night.

* * *

_(...Early the Next Morning...)_

* * *

Kuvira woke slowly.

_Well._ Her mind mustered up a thought._ That happened. Again._

It didn't come as much of a surprise; _that _was overshadowed by the same realization that she'd slept with him twice in as many days. Only hours after killing her former fiance. Another pesky thorn of guilt pricked at her and held at the flesh of her heart, keeping her back. Irritated, she plucked it out with a thought. Naruto had refused her offer after all. Darn it. Darn _him._ She'd gotten her hopes up and for what...?

Chiding herself for her foolishness, she willed her

When she opened her eyes it was to warm sunlight, a pleasant ache between her legs and the sensation of freshly-cleaned sheets against her skin. It seemed someone had taken great pangs to push both sofas together while she slept and as such she found herself nestled between them, tucked into a soft cocoon of velvety bliss, pillows and all. The scent of breakfast reached her moments later and she beheld a rather pleasing sight of warm, buttery pancakes heaped upon a neat little tray furnished of light platinum. A small hidebound letter was

_Hope you like 'em! Not much of a waffle guy._

_~Naruto._

The ghost of a smile plucked at the corner of Kuvira's mouth.

"Idiot." she murmured, but the words were without rancor.

Her hand darted out, plucking one of the moist pancakes from the plate and lifting it to her mouth. Delicious. Words alone didn't do this culinary creation justice. Within seconds she devoured it and the rest. Her appetite now sated, she leaned back against the cushions, idly clutching the sheets to her breasts for modesty's sake. This presented her with a very tempting prospect, all things considered. She could simply lounge here all day if she were so inclined and not worry a wit about anything. She wouldn't even have to get dressed. Now _there_ was a pleasant thought. She'd no idea where her outfit had landed into last night's scrabble and wasn't looking forward to hunting down her undergarments.

And she was tempted, too.

But in the end she knew that, as much as she might like too, she couldn't lounge in bed all day. If Naruto had deigned to stay in bed with her she might've given in but alas, the enigmatic blond was nowhere to be found and she knew she must get up sooner or later or risk laying about all day like a lazy sod.

It took her nearly half-an-hour to hunt down her clothes.

Somehow her pants had gotten stuck on the stairs.

How it had gotten up _there_, she had no idea.

The rest of the day progressed as much as she had suspected it must; with open suspicion and angry jeers, more-so as her men packed up camp and made to depart for their vehicles. The lucky ones were pelted with stones. Others weren't so fortunate and found themselves chased out of town with a barrage of fireballs and blades. Kuvira made no effort to stop these little riots. These people had every right to be angry at her, and her troops. her Word of Batar's fell deeds had already spread like wildfire overnight and many of the townsfolk were glad to see her gone.

Of Naruto she heard or saw no sign.

As if he'd vanished from the face of the earth.

In a matter of hours all her troops had secured their belongings and pulled back. A few had sustained minor injuries, but nothing serious. The delegation dispatched to retrieve Batar's body had been successful and his cadaver was safely secured in one of the flat beds. All was in readiness, all was prepared.

She had only to give the word.

Still, Kuvira hesitated to give the order.

Part of her wanted to storm into the village, hunt him down and drag him with her. But she knew how poorly that would be received. The entire town would rise up against her if she attempted it. Surely he wouldn't just leave her hanging like this? Common sense dictated she leave immediately and make haste for Republic City. Ah, but her heart had other plans. So she lingered atop one of the trucks, clutching the guard rail, feeling an imbecile as she waited for one

"Room for one more?"

Kuvira spun around so fast she actually _bent_ the metal beneath her feet without intending to.

"I...you...what?"

To her surprise

Instead of the plain clothes she'd grown so accustomed to, the blond had shed them entirely. As if he'd peeled away that guise to reveal what lurked beneath. Now he wore a grey tunic with light armor-most likely platinum-across his chest and forearms, over which he'd draped a bright red crimson coat etched with sigils of blue flame. Had she been familiar with his home and upbringing, she would recognize the attire right away; he looked like some eldritch cross between an Anbu elite and a Kage. He looked every bit a warrior, and a small part of her thrilled at it.

"I thought you weren't coming." she managed.

"I never said no." the chipper blond informed her as he climbed up onto the truck after her. "I just said I wasn't willing to leave without saying anything. And now I've said my peace" he gave the massive pack a tug with his good arm. "Kolgrim's agreed to look after things while I'm gone, and everyone knows you won't be taking over. Folks aren't happy about me taking a vacation, still, my word's law, so they're listening. I may have to have a word with one or two of them when I get back, but they understand why I'm doing this."

"So you're actually going through with it."

"I thought the big fucking _pack_ made it obvious."

"Fair enough. Tell me, what made you change your mind?"

He tapped his staff against the ground.

"Balance."

Kuvira blinked.

"Balance?"

"Exactly." the blond replied cryptically, causing her to arch an eyebrow.

So he wanted to be smart, did he?

"First time for everything."

"Ohoho!" Naruto cackled back. "She's got claws!"

Kuvira couldn't help herself.

Laughter bubbled up out of her all at once; a great, deep giggle that had her doubling over, continuing to rise until her eyes watered and her sides ached, leaving her clutching herself until it physically hurt to breathe. It wasn't Naruto's remark that had her laughing so, though it was certainly a part of it. It was sheer, cleansing glee. It felt...refreshing. To just laugh and not care who saw her. Because she'd gotten her wish, whether she knew it or not. With him at her side, she felt like she could take on the world and win. And maybe she could.

It didn't matter.

Because she'd _won._

Smiling, she extended her hand.

"C'mon, country boy. I'll show you what a _real_ city looks like."

"We'll just see about that."

Naruto accepted it readily, allowing her to hoist him up into the truck. Kuvira barked an order and the driver gunned the engine, the vehicle roaring to life beneath them and starting forward. Naruto whistled softly as he settled down into a nearby seat, idly balancing himself against her side. Kuvira instinctively leaned into him, nestling her head against his shoulder. After a moment's hesitation, the blond reciprocated, draping his good arm around her, pulling her close and never looking back, even as his home shrank into the distance.

"So." he started cheerily, "Whaddya want to do today, Kuvira-chan?"

Kuvira restrained a small knowing smile from forming.

"The same thing I want to do every day, Naruto."

He shot her a wry look.

"And that is...?"

"Try to take over the world."

Naruto laughed.

_"Classic."_

**A/N: Aaaaaaaaand there we be! Naruto's decided to tag along with Kuvira for the time being. He is BY NO MEANS subservient to her. Neither is his little village. He's simply taken an interest and chosen to follow her on her journey ahead. He is a voice of reason. Of Dissent. One can only wonder what will come of it. And now we can't help but wonder...where will things go from here?**

**Find out next time!**

**Yes, this Naruto is the one from near the end of the series-he got his arm blown off by Sasuke and the ensuing aftershock flung him across dimensions. As to whether he'll ever get his arm back, eh, who knows? The mark has moved to his opposite hand for obvious reasons; even with only one arm, he's still a force to be reckoned with. Pairing is NarutoxKuvira! Why, you ask? Because I can't stand Batar Jr. He was...is...not the best guy. He struck me as a whiney brat in the season, with no real explanation for his actions. I've watched all of Season Four, and nothing I've seen clarifies it.**

**So, sorry if it seems like I bashed him in this chapter, but that's that. He'll have much less of a role in later chapters anyway, so don't worry. ALSO! Apparently, according to Michael Dante Dimartion the final pairing for Korra was...Asami? I know they held hands at the end...but DANG! Wasn't expecting them to go and make it official by post! Now, back to this story. How did it come to be, you ask? **

**Simple. Naruto and Kuvira are quite alike, personality-wise. They are fierce, determined, and most of all...DRIVEN.**

**So I thought to myself, someone who openly defied Kuvira, preventing her from uniting the Earth Kingdom. Wouldn't that get under her skin? Ohhhhh, yes it would! Naturally Naruto came to mind, a little older, a little wiser, but still very much himself, always willing to stick up for those who need it, and kicking the asses of those who deserve it! It'll be quite amusing to see him interact with Kuvira over the course of this story...**

**So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

**...Review, Would You Kindly? TIS A SHOCKER! WHAT LED TO THIS POINT?! THAR BE THREE THIS TIME! And yes, the bit with Su and Kuvira happens next chapter. It just felt forced to put it in this one, ya know?**

**(Previews)**

_Su yin scowled._

_"Who are you? Where's Batar?"_

_Kuvira stiffened._

_Despite her every instinct screaming at her NOT to do it, she shrank back and hid behind Naruto. Such was the heat in Su's gaze. That intense stare bordering on disappointment, it reminded her of countless days past when she was a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar._

_"Erm..._

_Naruto sighed and scratched the back of his head._

_"Well...ah, y'see, its kinda complicated, but, ah, fuck it...he's dead."_

_"What?!" The leader of Zaofu balked, taken aback. "How?!"_

_"I killed him." he lied eloquently._

_Kuvira whipped around._

_So did Su Yin._

_"WHAT/WHAT?!"_

* * *

_Naruto sighed and tapped his staff against the ground._

_Once._

_Twice._

_Thrice._

_"Ladies."_

_The staff took Kuvira low and hard in the stomach, just as a boot slid beneath Korra's guard and caught her on the chip, flinging her to the ground. When they scrambled upright the blond stood between them, a small smile affixed to his face._

_Kuvira hadn't thought it possible for someone to crack their knuckles with one hand, but Naruto did just that. _

_Handily._

_"Now, let's talk this over like adults."_

* * *

_Sly._

_Little._

_Stowaway._

_"Do you love him, mama?"_

_Kuvira colored to the very roots of her hair._

_For all her strength of will and all her stubborn pride, she found that she couldn't speak. Words simply failed her. All this from a little girl! Granted, a very clever little girl who seemed entirely too smart for her own good but still! She'd found herself completely, utterlyshut down by five little words, all her pride and ambitions squandered in an instant by that simple inquiry. No, that wasn't quite right. Mama. Tara had taken to calling her that ever since that spirt-forsaken morning, and for the life of her, she didn't know how to make her stop!_

_At length, she found her voice, but the words emerged as a stumbling stutter._

_"W-What did you just say?"_

_Tara blinked._

_"If you love him, then marry him."_

_She said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world._

**R&amp;R~! =D**


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